Kingston, June 26: Yuvraj Singh hit a sublime 131 and Dinesh Karthik smashed a brilliant 67 to propel India to 339/6 against the West Indies in the first one-day international here on Friday.The duo knit together a 135-run stand for the third wicket to resurrect India’s innings, which was rocked by short-pitched bowling after electing to bat at Sabina Park.Early dismissals of Gautam Gambhir (13) and Rohit Sharma (4) had left India reeling at 32/2, but Yuvraj and Karthik batted with patience to not only save India from more jolts but also lay a solid platform for a good finish.

After guiding his side to a safe position, Yuvraj started clobbering the host bowlers as he hit seven sixes and 10 fours in his 102-ball knock, his 12th ODI century.He hit both Taylor and Chris Gayle for two sixes each and also added 86 runs for the fourth wicket with skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who contributed 41 runs before his run out.Yuvraj batted fearlessly as he hit Lionel Baker for two fours and a six to reach 98 and then stole a single off Taylor to complete his rollicking century. He then hit Taylor for two fours and a six in the same over, which fetched India 16 runs. Just when the Punjab southpaw was threatening to take India to a 350-plus total, Dwayne Bravo dealt the visitors twin-blow by dismissing Yuvraj and Ravinder Jadeja (0) off successive balls in the 39th over.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board has appointed Mashrafe Mortaza as the new captain of the national team for the tours of West Indies and Zimbabwe.The 25-year old fast bowler, dubbed as Narail Express, has so far played 35 Tests and 103 ODIs and will replace Mohammad Ashraful.The BCB decided to relieve Ashraful of his captaincy duties to allow him to focus on his batting. World's number one all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan was named as the deputy to Mortaza.The Board wants to sincerely thank Mohammad Ashraful for his contribution as skipper. The decision to replace him was taken with the intention of relieving the load on Ashraful so that he can play his natural game, said BCB Media & Communications Committee Chairman Mohammed Jalal Yunus.

Ashraful was appointed to the role two years ago but the team failed to make an impact the world scene under his captaincy. In the recently concluded ICC World Twenty20, Bangladesh led by Ashraful was humiliated by Ireland and India, thus ensuring an early exit.The middle-order batsman took over the captaincy from Habibul Bashar in 2007.The team will leave for Caribbean on June 29 to play one T20, three ODIs and two Tests under the leadership of Mortaza.

West Indian all-rounder Dwayne Bravo will play for Victoria state in next season's Australian Twenty20 competition, Cricket Victoria chief executive Tony Dodemaide said Wednesday. "Dwayne is a proven performer in all forms of the game, a very exciting young wholehearted performer for the West Indies," Dodemaide said."He's on the way up, only 25 years of age and we're particularly looking forward to him being with our squad and our young players throughout the Big Bash competition this year." Dodemaide said Victoria hoped to recruit another international player in line with Cricket Australia policy which allows each state to field two overseas stars. Victoria, which includes Australian internationals Brad Hodge, Cameron White and Peter Siddle, has won the Australian Twenty20 competition three times since its inception four years ago.

The Indian team management on Wednesday confirmed that injured opener Virender Sehwag will stay back in England and continue treatment on his troublesome shoulder. "Sehwag is here but not as team member because Dinesh Karthik is coming. The BCCI has asked him to see some expert here. We will be treating him here or he will be seeing some other expert in some other country. The BCCI has asked to take rehab from the physio here, who will be taking him to a specialist here," team manager Chamundeshwar Nath said in Nottingham. Sehwag was ruled of the ICC World Twenty20 after failing to recover from his shoulder injury sustained during the Indian Premier League last month. He spent around 10 days with the squad trying to get back in shape, but it became clear that he would need surgery to recover and accordingly he was ruled of the tournament. Contrary to some media reports floating around which said the India may not be approved of their replacement player in Dinesh Karthik for Sehwag, Nath confirmed that the replacement has been approved by the ICC. "It has been cleared. We have given all the medical certificates and all. Dinesh Karthik can come and we are just waiting for the visa," he said. More

The Indian team management is yet to apply for, or receive, official sanction to replace the injured Virender Sehwag with Dinesh Karthik, who was named as the stand-in on Tuesday and is expected to reach the UK on Thursday. While it seems a formality, India will have to convince the ICC that Sehwag suffered or aggravated his injury during the ongoing World Twenty20, while it is well-known that he injured his shoulder during the IPL. In case of injuries, ICC rules allow players to be replaced after an event has started only if the injury occurred during the tournament, and Sehwag has himself admitted that he suffered the shoulder injury, which has ruled him out of the World Twenty20, during the IPL semi-finals in Johannesburg on May 21. "The injury occurred during the IPL semi-final (against the Deccan Chargers). I hurt myself while diving to bring off a stop," Sehwag was quoted as saying by the Kolkata Telegraph. "I'll be consulting a specialist in London, where I'll be heading to now. There's nothing that I can do." Since arriving with the team in England, Sehwag batted in one practice session - on Tuesday, when he faced 12 balls before pulling out due to pain on the shoulder. When contacted on Wednesday afternoon, Steve Elworthy, the tournament director who is also a member of the event's technical committee, confirmed the ICC was yet to receive an official application from the BCCI. The committee, he said, would consider "how the injury came about" while taking a decision on Sehwag's replacement. "We will have to look at how the injury came about," Elworthy told Cricinfo. "I can't speculate at this point about what our decision will be but it all depends on the circumstances of the injury. We will have to study the medical report that is provided (to the committee). There is a whole list of criteria involved in such cases." Sehwag's injury had sparked intense speculation in the Indian media after MS Dhoni, the team's skipper, appeared reluctant to discuss the issue in public. Later, the entire team lined up before reporters at a press conference in a show of unity following reports of a rift on the injury issue between Dhoni and Sehwag, his vice-captain. More

Trent Bridge: Zaheer Khan wreaked havoc while Rohit Sharma continued his purple patch as a ruthless India decimated Ireland by eight wickets in a rain-marred Group A tie of the Twenty20 World Cup. Zaheer Khan (4/19) led the rout as India restricted a hapless Ireland to a mere 112 for eight in 18 overs and then went on to overwhelm the target in 15.3 overs with Rohit (52 not out) and Gautam Gambhir (37) making merry against the toothless Irish attack. Put into bat after persistant rain had truncated the tie to an 18-overs-a-side affair, Ireland could not recover from Zaheer's early three-wicket burst and only four players managed double digit scores as the minnows barely crawled past the 100-mark. With both the sides having already made it to the Super Eight stage, nothing really was at stake but India captain Mahendra Singh meant serious business when he walked out with the full-strength team. And chasing a paltry 113 from 18 overs, India hardly broke a sweat with Gambhir and Rohit going great guns. Gambhir cut the first ball from Boyd Rankin through covers for a four to signal his intention. The left-hander came dancing down the track to hit Kevin O'Brien through covers and then upper-cut Rankin over third man for a stunning six. At the other end, Rohit was not silent either. The right-hander paddle-scooped Alex Cusack for a four and then chipped him to a similar effect. The opening stand had yielded 77 runs when Gambhir perished at backward point in the 11th over. An undeterred Rohit smacked Rankin over mid-wicket for a huge six to inch closer to the target and even though Mahendra Singh Dhoni's (14) was a brief stay, India's win was just a matter of formality which Rohit and Yuvraj Singh (3 not out) completed with ease. Earlier, Zaheer showed Ireland up as doddering novices as he helped India restrict the opponents to a mere 112 for 8. Andrew White was the lone face of Irish resistance, top scoring with a 25-ball 29. The left-arm paceman steamed in on a rainy day to hustle out four Irish batsmen, three off seven balls in his first spell of two overs. Zaheer took a wicket off his sixth, seventh and 12th deliveries, two off catches in first slip to reduce Ireland to 17 for three in four overs. Pragyan Ojha then struck off his first delivery in the seventh over and Harbhajan Singh too joined the fun as Ireland's score read 48 for five in the 10th over. The first boundary in the Ireland's innings came in the fourth over and there were in all only nine fours, besides a six, hit. From the time Dhoni won the toss and chose to field, the defending champions kept a tight hold on the proceedings. Zaheer bowled the second over but things soon began to happen in India's favour. Ireland's opening pair mostly connected air as they tried to swish outside the off-stump but to no success. Jeremy Bray then completely misread the line of an incoming Zaheer delivery to have his middle and leg stumps knocked back for no runs from seven balls. The left-arm paceman put himself in line for a hat-trick when he had the other opener William Porterfield edge a catch to Yusuf Pathan in the slips. Before Zaheer's second over was out, Andre Botha too fell in the same manner but not before he had square cut the left-arm paceman for the first boundary of the innings. Ojha was pressed into service in the seventh over and obliged off his first delivery when Kevin O' Brien under-edged a pull on to his stumps. Harbhajan had to wait till his second over before Gary Wilson (19) failed to read his 'doosra' and lost stump. Ireland then lost their sixth and seven wicket for the addition of one run only. John Mooney (19) reverse swept Ojha uppishly into the hands of Yuvraj Singh at short fine leg and Regan West was run out by a direct throw by Suresh Raina from mid-on. Left-arm spinner Ojha increased his tally of wickets to six from two matches, his haul in the present innings reading 2 for 19 from allotted four overs. More

India seamer Zaheer Khan took four for 19 to set up a comfortable eight-wicket victory over Ireland in the final group match of the Twenty20 World Cup on Wednesday. Both teams had already qualified for the second round of the tournament. Left-arm swing bowler Zaheer helped restrict Ireland to just 112 for eight after the match was was reduced to 18-overs a side following a rain delay. Man-of-the-match Zaheer was well supported by spinner Pragyan Ojha, who completed figures of two for 18 from four overs. Rohit Sharma (52 not out) and Gautam Gambhir (37) put on 77 for the first wicket for defending champions India who reached 113 for two with 15 deliveries remaining under the Trent Bridge floodlights. More

Kolkata, April 18 (ANI): Fans of Sourav Ganguly, who led Kolkata Knight Riders' in the 2008 edition of the Indian Premier League, burnt posters of Bollywood star Shahrukh Khan in Kolkata, after New Zealand's Brendon McCullum replaced him as the captain of the team. Ganguly's fans said that they would not accept anyone else in his place, as he has been a better team leader than McCullum in the said tournament. Fans also alleged that Shahrukh Khan, owner of KKR has been responsible for sacking Ganguly. More

Dubai, April 15 (IANS) India rose to the second spot in International Cricket Council's ODI rankings following Australia's loss to South Africa in the fourth One-dayer at Port Elizabeth. South Africa beat Australia 4-1 in the away series and have taken an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series at home. Their seven victories in nine ODIs have consigned Ricky Ponting's side to its lowest ranking since the listings were launched in October 2002. South Africa lead the table with 127 points while India are on 122 points and Australia on 121. Remarkably, out of a total of 79 months since October 2002, Australia held the top spot for 69 months, including 52 straight months. India's placing is the highest it has achieved in the ODI rankings and complements its third place in the Test rankings. Australia, which moved to the top of the table after a 141-run victory in the first game of the series in Durban, will regain the No.2 position if they win the final ODI at The Wanderers. If South Africa win Friday they will finish the series on 128 ratings points while Australia will head off to the United Arab Emirates to face Pakistan in a five-match ODI series in third place on 120 ratings points, trailing India by two. More

Mumbai: Rajasthan Royals would reward the team's Most Valuable Player after each match with a cash award of USD 1000 during the second season of the DLF Indian Premier League in South Africa. Royals management announced this decision after a sponsorship deal with HDFC Standard Life. Under the deal, inked earlier this week, the insurance firm would be the associate sponsor as well as insurance partner of the IPL's defending champion which is owned by a consortium of international investors, including Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty, a media release said on Thursday. The Most Valuable Player of a particular match will be chosen by captain-coach Shane Warne and other members of the franchise's coaching staff, the release said. "This award is a very thoughtful gesture from HDFC Standard Life. Every player looks forward to being recognised for his contribution to the team. This will add on to the motivation of our young team to give their best in every match," Shane Warne said. More