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Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Can’t quite smack these for sixes•BCCI

In five overs of high-quality fast bowling, easily the best cricket seen in this IPL, Mitchell Johnson and Lasith Malinga pushed Chris Gayle and Tillakaratne Dilshan into a corner with accurate, fast and hostile short-pitched bowling. The batsmen had been severely restricted; Dhawan Kulkarni and Harbhajan Singh then came on to pin them and consign Royal Challengers Bangalore, the table leaders, to a 58-run defeat.In Royal Challengers’ previous match, Gayle had scored 175 and added 167 runs with Dilshan to encourage superlatives that would have you believe it was impossible to bowl to Gayle. Nobody informed Johnson and Malinga, though. This was a similar pitch to the one in Bangalore where Gayle caused the mayhem. The outfield was similarly small, top edges flew for sixes here too, but unlike the opposition then, Johnson and Malinga had the pace, and they were prepared to bounce Gayle.Gayle likes to bide his time, is unhurried, and plays percentage cricket, seemingly at will. He wasn’t allowed to do any of that. He did play a flat pull early in the chase when Johnson bowled one into the ribs, managing to smack it to deep midwicket for six. Johnson didn’t back off. He placed a deep midwicket, and went back to bouncing Gayle some more. Now he began to get the ball higher.And Malinga, he has never been hit for a six by Gayle in the IPL. He wasn’t about to today. However, Malinga’s first over was dedicated to making life difficult for countryman Tillakaratne Dilshan. One swing-and-miss followed another as Malinga kept swinging the away from Dilshan. At 10 for 0 after two overs, the openers were shaken. Stirring was to begin soon.First came the shot you will rarely ever see Gayle play: the ramp. Johnson got one to bounce disconcertingly towards the throat, and Gayle tried to clear slips with an open face. This one bounced extra, caught the glove, and the lob just about evaded the slips. Dilshan immediately took a single to send Gayle back to face the chin music. Johnson continued with two more bouncers, Gayle pulled at both, but in a different postal code. Beaten by the bounce on both occasions.In the next over, Malinga hit him on the left shoulder, the rear shoulder. This was no slower bouncer, Malinga bowled it like he meant to. He followed it up with a superb yorker. Thankfully Mumbai didn’t back off, as T20 generally encourages teams to do. Johnson got a third over. He beat Gayle with a left-armer’s outswinger. Gayle was caught on the crease, expecting a bouncer. This was more Suresh Raina than Gayle. He was well and truly out of his comfort zone.Gayle did get two fours off mis-hits in that fifth over, but still he was only 17 off 16, and Dilshan 13 off 14. This was a rude shock for Royal Challengers. On came Kulkarni, a lesser bowler of lesser pace playing his first game of the season, but the task for Royal Challengers wasn’t much lesser. Bowling on a pitch he knows as well as the back of his hand, Kulkarni got bounce and away movement, Dilshan went after it, and Johnson completed a special catch at third man. You couldn’t keep Johnson out of action.In the next over, Rohit Sharma introduced Harbhajan Singh, who teased Gayle with flight and slow pace. Gayle slog-swept, got a thick edge, and it took the best of Ambati Rayudu – who had been run out earlier when a bowler inadvertently knocked his bat out of the crease – to take the catch at cow corner. It kicked off wild celebrations, and Harbhajan pulled out an improvised version of Gangnam-style.Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers were too stunned, and followed shortish and wide deliveries and guided them to the keeper. Kulkarni had helped kill the game in the eighth over of the chase. To be fair to Gayle, though, he has been tested before, and he endures those spells even if it means he has to wait for 10 overs. Tonight, though, Mumbai had got the strategy and execution right. They didn’t want to give Gayle that freedom, which usually comes with batting first. And they also put on 194 on the board, which meant the pressure of asking rate accumulated with every bouncer that beat him.The 194 came thanks to a calculated assault by Sachin Tendulkar at the top of the game, followed by Dwayne Smith’s second consecutive half-century, and the hitting by Dinesh Karthik and Kieron Pollard towards the end. Tendulkar cleared the infield well during the Powerplay overs; he tried just that as opposed to going for big sixes in his 13-ball 23. Smith then hit the big sixes. Karthik was industrious in his 43 off 33, and Pollard hit even bigger sixes when he hit 34 off 16.Put together, they set the perfect platform for the fast bowlers, who in turn had evidently grown a leg.

ScorecardFile photo: Dimuth Karunartne’s century helped SLC Combined XI to a comfortable seven-wicket victory•Manoj Ridimahaliyadda

A faltering Sri Lanka A were beaten comprehensively by SLC Combined XI, in the third match of the List A tri-series in Pallekele. SLC Combined captain Dimuth Karunaratne hit an unbeaten hundred as his side ran down Sri Lanka A’s 211 with seven wickets in hand and more than nine overs to spare. Both teams have been beaten once by the Rest of Sri Lanka side so far in the tournament.Offspinning allrounder Sachithra Serasinghe also contributed significantly to the win, first removing three top-order batsmen in a long first spell, then returning with the bat to help secure smooth passage towards victory. He bowled Niroshan Dickwella, who, upon promotion to the top order, had built a 45-run stand with Udara Jayasundera after the early loss of Dilshan Munaweera. Serasinghe then had captain Angelo Perera lbw not long after, before dismissing Jayasundera in the 23rd over. Serasinghe conceded just 34 in 8.4 overs.A half-century from Ashan Priyanjan helped Sri Lanka A post an acceptable total after having been 79 for 5, but his rebuilding efforts were repeatedly thwarted by regular wickets at the other end. Coming in at No. 6, he largely had to make do with tailenders for company. Priyanjan was dismissed in the 45th over by Malinga Bandara, and his side was bowled out in the 49th.In response, Karunaratne forged an 80-run opening partnership with Mahela Udawatte that became the foundation of SLC Combined’s innings, which was never put into strife. Suranga Lakmal and Vimukthi Perera – the bowlers who had wreaked havoc on the Rest of Sri Lanka’s top order on Tuesday – were expensive in this match, giving away runs at more than six and seven runs an over respectively. The spin bowlers fared better, but were unable to add more than two wickets to the scalp Lakmal earned.Serasinghe joined Karunaratne with 68 runs to get, and the pair breezed through the rest of the chase, hitting their target in ten overs, as Karunaratne crossed 100 with a six off Lakmal. His 109 not out came in 125 deliveries, and featured 12 fours and a six.Sri Lanka A will play their third match in three days against Rest of Sri Lanka on Thursday.

DAV College Chandigarh became Campus Cricket World Final champions, defeating University of Karachi by 49 runs in the final at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Sunday.Chandigarh, who were the most impressive team in the tournament, could hardly have had a worse start to the final when they were reduced to 2 for 3, in the fourth over, after being put in to bat. Karachi opening Meer Hamza bowler took two of those wickets, and later finished his four overs for 22 runs.Chandigarh were soon 36 for 4 from 7.1 overs but captain Kunal Mahajan led a startling recovery from there on, with a 73 off 36 balls. Mahajan’s innings featured three fours and seven sixes, and the biggest partnership of the match was his 87-run association with Gurinder Singh. Piyush Singh, batting at No. 8, pitched in with 24 runs off 11 deliveries, as Chandigarh finished on 170 for 8 from their 20 overs.Karachi started off better than Chandigarh but lost two wickets in the Powerplay and were unable to rebuild thereon. Opening batsman Ammar Hasan provided the early impetus with a 49-ball 58, but could not find a partner to stay with him, as four of the top six perished without having made double figures. Chandigarh bowler Rattan Singh took two early wickets and finished with 3 for 16 from his four overs, while Gurinder Singh accounted for the middle and lower order with 4 for 20. Karachi were all out for 121 in 19 overs.

Australia’s miserable tour of India could become even worse with the captain Michael Clarke battling a back injury that may affect his batting on the final day in Mohali. Clarke has had ongoing problems with his back for many years and after hurting it during the warm-up on the fourth morning, he went on and off the field a number of times during India’s batting, leaving Brad Haddin in charge during his absence.Clarke was unable to take his new No. 3 position when Australia batted later in the afternoon and he also did not come out at No. 4 or No. 5, with Phillip Hughes, Steven Smith and the nightwatchman Nathan Lyon all sent in ahead of him. Given that he is Australia’s leading run scorer during the series it was a major blow as they aimed to stave off defeat.”Michael injured his back in the warm-up this morning,” the team physio Alex Kountouris said. “He’ll undergo further treatment overnight. We’ll assess that and see how it settles in the morning.”Clarke’s forced move back down the order allowed Hughes to shift back up to first drop and he made his innings count, reaching 53 not out at stumps, easily his best score of what has otherwise been a horror tour for him. The fast bowler Peter Siddle said he was confident Clarke would bat on the final day but he conceded the captain had been really struggling on Sunday.”I think he’ll definitely bat,” Siddle said. “It was very sore throughout the day. Everyone knows he’s had a bit of trouble with his back. He got some treatment after we came off the field and everything seems to be going along fine. Knowing Michael he’ll do everything he can tonight with Alex and be ready to go tomorrow morning as soon as possible, no doubt. He’ll want to get out there first-up. I think he’ll be ready to go.”You never want to see your mate in pain or hurting or going off the field and getting treatment, but the boys stuck at it well. Hadds took control out there when he was off the field and did a good job and the boys kept going about their business. I don’t think anyone worries about it too much, but it was nice for Hughesy to get out there and dig in and batted superbly today.”Clarke’s back has caused him problems for many years but he has never missed a Test due to the pain. However, Australia have only three days off ahead of the fourth and final Test in Delhi, a short turnaround for Clarke and Australia’s medical staff to ensure his fitness.

Morne Morkel, the South Africa fast bowler, will miss the third Test of the series against Pakistan due to the hamstring injury he picked up during the course of the second game. Dolphins’ quick Kyle Abbott has been named as his replacement for the Test, which begins on February 22.Rory Kleinveldt, who was already part of the Test series squad, is expected to make South Africa’s starting XI though, ahead of Abbott.Abbott’s domestic form prompted his call-up, CSA selection convener Andrew Hudson said: “Kyle swings the ball nicely and is another player who has earned a call-up through outstanding form at franchise level. He has done extremely well in the Sunfoil Series [the domestic first-class competition] this season.”He had an outstanding match return of 12 for 96 against the champion, Cape Cobras, and finished the series as the leading wicket-taker [49 wickets] and an economy rate of under three to the over.”Morkel had pulled up halfway through his 21st over in Pakistan’s first innings, and left the field. He came out to bowl in the second innings, but managed only 3.1 overs before his hamstring trouble flared up again, leaving Jacques Kallis with the job of finishing his over for the second time in the match.Meanwhile, seamer Lonwabo Tsotsobe is likely to have fully recovered from his ankle injury in time for the limited-overs leg of the Pakistan series, Hudson said. “We did consider Lonwabo Tsotsobe [for the Tests] but unfortunately he is still recovering from an ankle injury. He will only be fit in time for the limited overs segment of the tour.”Tsotsobe was ruled out of December’s Twenty20 series against South Africa with ankle issues, but managed to play the ODIs that followed in January. He has not played any competitive cricket since.

Former Test batsman Hashan Tillakaratne has replaced Hemantha Wickramaratne in Sri Lanka’s new selection panel, after Wickramaratne stepped down due to work commitments, new chief selector Sanath Jayasuriya said.Tillakaratne had been among the nominees sent to the sports minister by Sri Lanka Cricket, but had not been appointed in the five-member panel on Monday. Tillakaratne is a member of provincial council for the United National Party, which is in opposition to the United People’s Freedom Alliance of which Jayasuriya and the sports minister are members.Wickramaratne had resigned because he was called upon to become one of the two full-time selectors on the panel, but was unable to relinquish his other commitments. “He can’t be a full time selector with us because of his work,” Jayasuriya said. “Because of that we’ve got Hashan Tillakaratne in our panel, who has played a lot of international cricket and brings that experience.”Tillakaratne will be a full time selector alongside former fast-bowling team-mate Pramodya Wickramasinghe, while Jayasuriya, Eric Upashantha and Chaminda Mendis will be employed part-time. Tillakaratne had been a critic of the current administration, and had even alleged political interference in the last SLC elections. He said he would continue to hold his post as a member of provincial council, while he worked as a full-time selector.”I took this job because I see it as a duty,” Tillakaratne said. “I played for a long time and benefited from the game, and I think if I can help take Sri Lanka cricket forward in any way, I have a duty to do that.”I do have the time to be both a member of provincial council and a full time selector, and it is after considering all that that I decided to accept this position. Sanath was one of the best cricketers in the world and I’m enthusiastic about working with him and the rest of the panel. I think we will be able to do something good.”SLC had said it would endeavour to cut its ties with politics after Haroon Lorgat issued his report recommending less political influence in the board, but with two politicians now on the selection panel and the with no moves having been taken to cut the sports minister out of the selection process, superficially, politics has become even more embedded in cricket administration.Jayasuriya was adamant however, that his panel’s sole focus would be on cricket, and that the selectors’ political affiliation would not affect their work for SLC. “We’re not concerned with the politics of either party on this panel. What we are concerned with is Sri Lanka’s cricket and that will be our top priority. We should thank the sports minister for choosing someone like Hashan, who has played for Sri Lanka and also been a good captain.”The sports minister has given us the freedom to act independently of political affiliations and it was encouraging to hear that. We will stay focused on improving Sri Lanka’s cricket.”Tillakaratne was a stylish left-handed batsman who played 83 Tests and 200 ODIs for Sri Lanka. He captained the side in 11 Tests between 1999 and 2004, and was a member of the World Cup winning side alongside Jayasuriya and Wickramasinghe in 1996.

Brett Lee has called on Cricket New South Wales to sack the chief executive David Gilbert after the board fired the head coach Anthony Stuart during the week. Lee, who plays for the Sydney Sixers but is no longer a New South Wales state player, said Stuart, who was appointed as head coach in mid-2011, had been the scapegoat for deficiencies within the state’s cricket setup that had been apparent for several years.”I think the blame for a lot of things has been unfairly dumped on Anthony Stuart,” Lee told Fairfax Media. “It should have been at the top, Dave Gilbert. He should’ve been made to go in my opinion. Cricket New South Wales is all about leadership, and while that comes from the coach, it comes from the top, too, and I believe for the last five or six years New South Wales has seriously dropped the ball … you can tell by their performances and it isn’t the guys on the cricket field – it’s the hierarchy.”New South Wales last won the Sheffield Shield in 2007-08 and the domestic one-day tournament in 2005-06, and for a state with such a proud history that is something of a drought. Lee said Gilbert, who has been chief executive for a decade, should have been held accountable by the board instead of getting rid of Stuart only a year and a half in to his two-year contract.”If David Gilbert appoints Anthony Stuart and then basically fires him, even though they’re saying his contract was not renewed, it was a bad call,” Lee said. “Why is he still there? In my opinion, it is a terrible situation and while Anthony Stuart was given the tap on the shoulder I believe the board should have gone right to the top and started with David Gilbert.”Lee said he was also unhappy with the way he was treated during the final stages of his state career, including when he was told after an appendix operation early last summer that he would need to fly to Melbourne to play in an Under-19s game to prove his fitness.”I wasn’t going to ‘earn’ my stripes for them,” Lee said. “I was 35 at the time and decided to just pull the pin. I’d proven my fitness by bowling in the nets for four weeks. It was a disgrace.”Lee said his impression of the current hierarchy at Cricket New South Wales had not improved when he announced his retirement earlier this year.”When I retired I phoned David Gilbert to thank Cricket New South Wales for all it had done for me, and the opportunities it presented me,” Lee said. “I believe in New South Wales cricket, I loved wearing the baggy blue, but I have not received a reply from him … every person I phoned, Ricky Ponting, James Sutherland, Adam Gilchrist … The only person who hadn’t phoned me back was Dave Gilbert and Cricket New South Wales.”It was disappointing but it’s important in this context because it’s about communication and support, something I believe is missing at New South Wales and it’s having a negative effect on the team.”Lee said the only way things would change at New South Wales would be through changes at the top.

Australia’s coach Mickey Arthur has defended Nathan Lyon after criticism from both Muttiah Muralitharan and Stuart MacGill over the past few days. Lyon did not take a wicket in the second innings of Australia’s victory against Sri Lanka in Hobart; he bowled 32 overs including 12 maidens but rarely threatened to lure the Sri Lankan batsmen into a false stroke as they sought to play out a draw on the final day.After the Test, MacGill told Fox Sports he believed Lyon was bowling too fast and too straight, and he was also rushing between overs rather than slowing proceedings down and letting the batsmen wait. Muralitharan told the on Monday that Australia did not “have the person to take wickets on a turning wicket,” and that Sri Lanka’s batsmen could have gone after Lyon more in Hobart because “nothing much [was] happening” when he was bowling.However, Lyon remains firmly in Australia’s Test plans, having been the team’s leading wicket-taker during the recent series against South Africa. Arthur said Lyon was developing as a bowler and it was important to realise that he was still young, at 24, with relatively little first-class experience to his name, and that his record of 56 Test victims at 31.92 from 17 Tests was a fine start to his career.”He’s young, he’s still finding out about his bowling,” Arthur said. “[He has] immense potential though. We’re backing Nathan because Nathan will deliver for us in the long run. Spinners only reach their peak at 28 or 29. We’ve got a 24-year-old who has got over 50 wickets [and was the] leading wicket-taker through the South African series. Nathan is doing everything right. He is working extremely hard. Nathan is a very good bowler and will be a very good bowler for Australia going forward.”Lyon is preparing for his second Boxing Day Test, and it will be his 18th match in the baggy green – more than half of his 32 first-class games have been Tests. This summer he has been tested on the fifth day on three occasions and while he understands that his performances in such situations will come under scrutiny, he believes every match has provided him with a valuable learning opportunity.”I’m learning every time I go out to bowl,” Lyon said. “There have been a couple of day five pitches but in Adelaide South Africa batted fantastically and in Hobart we got the result. There are a lot of expectations on the spinner but I’m not worried about that, I’m worried about doing the right thing for the team and working well with Pup and all the other bowlers.”I reckon it’s the best place to learn. You’re playing at the top of the tree and that’s the best place to learn. If you’re not learning up there I’m not sure why you’re playing. I’m really enjoying every opportunity of playing cricket for Australia and every time I walk out on the field, whether it’s with the bat or ball. I’m relishing the chance and I know in myself I’m growing as a human and with my cricket.”As for the criticism of his bowling speed in some situations this summer, Lyon said he was in constant dialogue with the captain Michael Clarke, who stands at slip, about how to deliver the ball to best challenge the batsmen.”I’m talking to Michael Clarke and Matt Wade after every over about my pace,” he said. “They’re my guides. I’m not really fazed about what people are coming out and saying. We’re out there in the middle, we know what pace we have to bowl on that pitch. It’s easy sitting at home. I’m communicating with Pup and Wadey every over about my pace. I’ve got a pretty good guide there with one of the best players in the world, Michael Clarke, and the Australian keeper.”

West Indies’ bowling attack lacked fire after lunch in Khulna, when the fast bowler Tino Best left the field due to a hamstring injury. It was testified by the late surge by Bangladesh’s ninth-wicket stand. West Indies coach Ottis Gibson believes Best’s injury, which prevented him from bowling more than ten overs in the day, would stretch the rest of the attack.”The team was missing Tino Best after lunch, it was a big blow for us,” Gibson said. “The impact that Tino had on the last Test match, and then to come and miss him after lunch, was a bit of a blow for the guys. Everybody else had to dig a little bit deeper.”Fidel Edwards was one of the bowlers who dug deep. He claimed his twelfth five-wicket haul, and second against Bangladesh in consecutive Tests. His pace was enough to push Nazimuddin deep into the crease, in the third over of the morning, and allowed a catch to be fended to short leg. He was lucky to have Naeem Islam drag a wide delivery on to the stumps but his pace and movement accounted for Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim and Sohag Gazi.After the Dhaka Test last year, and before this spell, Edwards took only nine wickets in 11 innings. As a result, he wasn’t picked for the Tests at home against New Zealand in August and also wasn’t part of the first choice in the first Test of this series. But Gibson praised his effort, particularly the manner of his comeback. “He is a quality performer. He was waiting in the side to come back. He proved the sort of bowler that he is,” Gibson said.Edwards said the wicket of Mushfiqur Rahim gave him a lot of satisfaction. “The captain [Mushfiqur Rahim] was starting to get set. He is the guy who can anchor the innings. Once we got him, we could push for more wickets. The wicket is really flat where the batsmen can get off to a flyer, so you have to bowl in good areas,” he said.The setback due to Best’s injury was exacerbated by Sunil Narine’s lacklustre display. He went wicketless for 19 overs on the day, after an ordinary showing in the first Test in which he picked up three late wickets in the first innings.”He’s a quality bowler, mostly in the one-day format. In Test matches he got 10-12 wickets in first two Test matches against New Zealand but he has found bowling here a bit difficult,” Gibson said.”He has played a lot of cricket in a short space of time in his career. We will help him to understand Test cricket. When he gets it right, he’s a quality performer. He’s having a bad time of it but all a coach can ask for is for a bowler to continue working hard in the nets and that’s exactly what he’s doing.”Bangladesh lost three wickets each in the first two sessions, and for a while after the tea break, they were down to the No. 10. Like everyone else, Gibson too was looking forward to a quick finish and then a short batting period before stumps.”The guys should be a little disappointed with what has happened. We should have made more inroads. 190 for 8 represents a good day, and then the last session you have to give them credit.”Young [Abul] Hasan obviously batted very well. He rode a little bit of luck up front. This is what happens in Test cricket, this is day one of five. It was a tough day for us.”

The BBC has resolved its stand-off with the BCCI and come to an agreement that will see team, could choose not to cover the series at all rather than follow Sky’s lead and do so from the UK. However, two weeks before the start of the first Test in Ahmedabad, that situation has been averted.