Bangalore v Mumbai, 2nd qualifier, IPL 2011

Chris Gayle launches a straight drive, Bangalore v Mumbai, 2nd qualifier, IPL 2011, Chennai, May 27, 2011 Chris Gayle whips through the leg side, Bangalore v Mumbai, 2nd qualifier, IPL 2011, Chennai, May 27, 2011 Chris Gayle gives it the proverbial kitchen sink, Bangalore v Mumbai, 2nd qualifier, IPL 2011, Chennai, May 27, 2011 Mayank Agarwal scored 41 off 31 balls, Bangalore v Mumbai, 2nd qualifier, IPL 2011, Chennai, May 27, 2011 Lasith Malinga loses his purple hat, Bangalore v Mumbai, 2nd qualifier, IPL 2011, Chennai, May 27, 2011 Munaf Patel congratulates Chris Gayle on a terrific innings, Bangalore v Mumbai, 2nd qualifier, IPL 2011, Chennai, May 27, 2011 Sachin Tendulkar steers through the off side, Bangalore v Mumbai,...

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Chennai v Bangalore, IPL 2011, Final

Zaheer Khan watches the ball go past him, Chennai v Bangalore, IPL 2011, Final, Chennai, May 28, 2011 Saurabh Tiwary concedes four overthrows Chennai v Bangalore, IPL 2011, Final, Chennai, May 28, 2011 M Vijay and Michael Hussey ran superbly between the wickets, Chennai v Bangalore, IPL 2011, Final, Chennai, May 28, 2011 M Vijay celebrates his fifty, Chennai v Bangalore, IPL 2011, Final, Chennai, May 28, 2011 M Vijay takes a breather, Chennai v Bangalore, IPL 2011, Final, Chennai, May 28, 2011 M Vijay and Michael Hussey added 159 for the first wicket, Chennai v Bangalore, IPL 2011, Final, Chennai, May 28, 2011 Virat Kohli congratulates M Vijay, Chennai v Bangalore, IPL 2011, Final, Chennai, May 28, 2011 MS Dhoni sends one...

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Afridi admits violating PCB code

Shahid Afridi has replied to the PCB's showcause notice and accepted that he has violated the code of conduct, further stating his willingness to face whatever disciplinary action will come his way. "We have received Shahid Afridi's reply and he has accepted violation of the code of conduct," Nadeem Sarwar, the PCB media manager, told ESPNcricinfo. It is believed that while accepting the breaches in the reply, Afridi explained the cause of his actions and specifically, going to the media and announcing his retirement. Afridi is said to have been upset about learning of his removal from the ODI captaincy through media reports and so responded by going to the media first himself. ESPNcricinfo also understands Afridi has expressed...

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Seniors deserved a break - Raina

Suresh Raina, who is India's captain for the limited-overs leg of the tour of West Indies, has admitted there will be huge expectations from his team despite the absence of some big names. "[Being captain] is a great challenge to me and I'm really looking forward to that," Raina said on the team's arrival in the Caribbean. "We have good players who want to do well in this series. They have done well in first-class cricket and the IPL or in the World Cup team." For the ODIs, India will be without regular captain MS Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar, and Zaheer Khan, who have been rested, while Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh and Virender Sehwag miss out through injury or illness. Dhoni and Zaheer are set to return for the Tests, but the...

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West Indies v India, Only Twenty20,June 4, 2011

Suresh Raina poses with the winners' trophy, West Indies v India, Only Twenty20, Port of Spain, June 4, 2011 Christopher Barnwell slugs a big hit out of the ground, West Indies v India, Only Twenty20, Port of Spain, June 4, 2011 Darren Bravo cuts behind square, West Indies v India, Only Twenty20, Port of Spain, June 4, 2011 Marlon Samuels forces one down the ground, West Indies v India, Only Twenty20, Port of Spain, June 4, 2011 Harbhajan Singh nipped out the top-scorers of the innings in his final over, West Indies v India, Only Twenty20, Port of Spain, June 4, 2011 Munaf Patel disturbs Andre Fletcher's stumps, West Indies v India, Only Twenty20, Port of Spain, June 4, 2011 Lendl Simmons is about to be given out in controversial...

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West Indies crumble after good start, go down 2-0

Followers of modern West Indies cricket won't be surprised. It is painfully familiar. They put behind them yet another disappointment, make a good start, capitalise on it in the middle part, but stumble at the last mile. It happened this Saturday, when they were all over India with the ball, but lost all discipline and control in the last five overs. Today with the bat, they got off to a solid start, ensured minimal damage to the spin threat of Amit Mishra, accumulated steadily in the first 40 overs to reach 192 for 3, and then lost four wickets for five runs, reaching only 240 in the end. Led by a 120-run second-wicket stand between Virat Kohli and Parthiv Patel, India reached home without a bother, except for the rain break...

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Solid India rule out defeat, set for victory push

India batted West Indies out of the game through a cautious second-innings effort on the fourth day. Only 90 minutes were lost to rain, a vast improvement on the previous two days, but scoring remained difficult on a difficult track with ample bounce and seam movement. West Indies were thwarted by two rookies - Abhinav Mukund and Virat Kohli - and two veterans - Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman. At some time during the Dravid-Laxman association, the hosts resigned themselves to waiting for a declaration. The declaration wasn't quite on India's mind on the fourth day; they needed to make sure they got into a position of safety first. Looking at just the scorecard, it might be easy to criticise India's pace - 206 runs added in 83.2...

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