Suspense over, IPL-II to be held in South Africa

After much of speculation and drama, the fate of second edition of Indian Premier League has been decided and now the Twenty20 League will be played in South Africa, according to sources.

The date structure has also been changed. The tournament, which was earlier scheduled to begin from April 10, will now kick-off from April 17.

Earlier in the day, IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi reached Johannesburg and a decision on the host nation was expected.

"We will have to evaluate clearly and carefully before coming to a decision about the venue. We also need to take the weather pattern into consideration as well," Modi said.

He had also said earlier that presence of a large Asian community makes England an attractive venue for the Twenty20 event.

"England is a very attractive venue. It is easy to access from India and there is a large Asian community to tap into."

Tendulkar ton puts India in control

India can well fancy a chance of winning a Test match in New Zealand for the first time since 1976. Sachin Tendulkar's classic 160 runs and three New Zealand wickets in the second innings have put India in the driver's seat.
In reply to hosts' first innings total of 279 runs, India were all out for 520 runs with a lead of 241 runs. Tendulkar led Indian batting's motivated performance. While three batsmen made half-centuries, Sachin raised a well-crafted hundred.

Chasing the target of 241 runs, New Zealand lost three wickets with just 75 runs on the board. They lost their opener Tim McIntosh in the very first over of Zaheer Khan. After an unbeaten fifty, Zaheer got McIntosh for a naught. With this wicket, the left-hand seamer became the sixth Indian bowler to complete 200 Test wickets. A fuller delivery from Zaheer took the outside edge of the bat and went at first slip where Sachin Tendulkar took a low catch. But was it a clean one? Well, umpire Gould was convinced.

deserved fifty after he was dismissed for 48 runs by Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh. Guptill lofted an over-pitched delivery and Virender Sehwag took a diving catch to send him back.

Losing two key batsmen, New Zealand sent Kyle Mills as the nightwatchman but he perished to day's last ball. Munaf Patel caught him plumb in front of the wicket for 2 runs.



Tendulkar, on the other hand, continued to toy with the Kiwi bowlers. His dominating knock gave India a solid lead in the Test. He faced 260 balls and hit twenty-six boundaries to complete 42nd Test hundred, his fourth against the hosts.
He added 115 runs for the sixth wicket with MS Dhoni. The Indian skipper supported him well and scored 47 runs, but a short ball from Iain O'Brien brushed his gloves before going into the hands of wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum.

Sachin looked fit to continue the marauder's act but O'Brien struck to claim him as the most prized Indian wicket. The ball bounced high and kissed the top edge of a hopping Tendulkar's bat before travelling to Ross Taylor at the first slip.

After Dhoni and Sachin's fall, Harbhajan played a cameo of 16 runs. He tried to clean Kyle Mills through the long-off boundary but Kiwi skipper Vettori took a good catch at mid-off to see him back.

Zaheer, on the other end, took India's lead past 200. In the process he also completed his third Test fifty with the help of eight fours. Ishant Sharma and Munaf Patel were taken by Vettori for 6 and 9 respectively.

Top order batsmen give India advantage

HAMILTON: India were poised to set a substantial first innings lead over New Zealand when they ended the second day of the first Test on Thursday one run behind and with six wickets in hand.
Steady batting by India, restricted by New Zealand's defensive approach and their own reluctance to take risks, led them to 278 for four at the close when bad light ended play six overs early.

With Sachin Tendulkar unbeaten on 70 and Yuvraj Singh on eight, and strong batting to follow, the way was clear for India to dominate the Test.

New Zealand - after scoring a meek 279 on a placid wicket - managed just four wickets during the day

Govt asks IPL for new schedule

Taking into account all the factors, the home ministry has advised the IPL organizers that it may not be feasible to hold the matches as
per the revised schedule submitted by them on March 7.

The home ministry said that IPL organizers have been advised to accommodate the concerns of the various state governments and draw up a revised schedule and submit it to the ministry.

For Bangalore, Karnataka has expressed its inability to provide security on two match days but has agreed to provide security on the remaining four match days.

For Chennai, Tamil Nadu has agreed to provide security because the matches are scheduled after the elections.

For Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh has expressed its inability to provide security during the election period.

Delhi said it cannot provide security and asked for the matches to be rescheduled after the elections on May 7.

Punjab and West Bengal have agreed to provide security for the matches at Mohali and Kolkata if they are not required to release state police personnel for election duty.

For Mumbai and Nagpur, Maharashtra made it clear that it would be able to provide security only if additional companies of central paramilitary forces are provided to them on match days. The state has also said that it can provide security for the matches scheduled after April 30, when the elections in state would be over.

Rajasthan has taken the same line for Jaipur.

Earlier, the Union home ministry held a video conference with senior officials of the states where IPL matches are scheduled to be played next month. Union home secretary Madhukar Gupta held consultations with seven states including Delhi, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and West Bengal during which he was apprised of the security problems for hosting the mega event.

The states are understood to have again told the home ministry during the 90-minute video conference that it was not possible to hold the Twenty20 matches without additional security personnel from the central grid.

After the states expressed their views, Gupta held a meeting with home minister P Chidambaram which was attended by the security top brass and National Security Advisor M K Narayanan.

Concerned over availability of paramilitary forces in view of the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections, the Home Ministry had sent a revised schedule to the states concerned on March seven avoiding the polling dates.

Barring Tamil Nadu, all other states have agreed to host the matches with a rider that at least five to six companies (500-600 personnel) of paramilitary forces are kept at the disposal of the state police for security related issues, official sources said. Reports suggest that only Delhi is willing to host the league and the elections simultaneously.

On Thursday, the West Bengal government said it would request the Centre for an additional 30 companies of paramilitary forces to hold the IPL match in Kolkata on May 4 as the date was close to the Lok Sabha polls in the state scheduled on May 7.

Sehwag becomes fastest Indian centurion in ODIs

Swashbuckling opener Virender Sehwag eclipsed Mohammad Azharuddin's record to become the fastest Indian to score a hundred in an ODI when he hit a 60-ball 103 against New Zealand in the fourth one-dayer on Wednesday.
At an individual score of 97, Sehwag danced down the pitch and plundered a Daniel Vettori delivery over his head to bring up his hundred in the 18th over of the rain-truncated match to better Azharuddin by two balls.

The Indian is now has the seventh fastest hundred in ODI history, with Pakistan's Shahid Afridi topping the chart with his 37-ball 102 against Sri Lanka in Nairobi in 1996.

A former Indian captain, Azharuddin's 62-ball 108 had also come against New Zealand in Baroda in 1988. Sehwag's second fastest century (100 off 69 balls) is also against the Kiwis in Colombo in 2001.

India seal maiden ODI series in New Zealand

Virender Sehwag blasted a 60-ball hundred to become the fastest Indian centurion in ODIs while Gautam Gambhir hit a solid fifty for India to clinch the rain-hit 4th ODI by 84 runs by Duckworth Lewis method and win series against New Zealand at Hamilton. This is flamboyant opener's 11th ODI hundred of his career.

Another pause due to rain led to the reduction in the overs to 36 and India had to achieve 220-run target. Sehwag and Gambhir remained unbeaten on 125 and 63 respectively and shared a 201-run partnership to power India to series win.

Earlier, chasing the revised target of 281, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir gave the desired start to the Indian innings. India smoothly crossed initial overs without any loss of wickets.

Gambhir was on 28 while Sehwag was batting confidently on 51 to give nightmares to the Kiwis before rain halted the match for the third time in the day.

With two swift half-centuries by McCullum (77) and McGlashan (56), New Zealand managed to score 270/5. But the target for India was revised to 281 by the Duckworth-Lewis method.

Electing to bat first, New Zealand's Brendon McCullum and Jesse Ryder looked careful when they initiated their innings while India pacers struggled to get the breakthrough, early in the morning.

Both the openers managed to hit well and save their wickets till the time Ryder became part-timer Yuvraj Singh's victim when he was on 46 runs.

Ross Taylor joined Brendon McCullum, who smashed 15th ODI half-century of his career to take Kiwis past 100-run mark. Another India part-timer Yusuf Pathan came handy when he was quick enough to send back the new batsman - Taylor for just 5 runs.

Martin Guptill came in next and got an early scare of a run-out when he was on 12 runs. Just when the hosts looked a bit stronger, McCullum (77) was caught plumb by pace spearhead Zaheer Khan and he missed another well-deserving century.

Jacob Oram joined Martin Guptill at the crease but his arrival was of no benefit to the batting side as he gave away his wicket to lanky pacer Ishant Sharma off Dhoni. He added just one run to the board.

Ishant Sharma took another wicket in the form of Guptill (25) whose catch was closely taken by the third man and substitute Karthik. Grant Eliott entered next.

When Eliott (12) and McGlashan (28) were at the crease, play was stopped due to rain. New Zealand's score was 209 at the loss of 5 wickets then.

Play resumed but was again halted after two overs as rain played spoilsport for the second time. The game was reduced to 47-over per side.

Play began and McGlashan hit a quick fifty. He remained unbeated on 56. While, Eliott (35*) added some crucial runs in the end to raise the score to 270/5.

Earlier, Ian O'Brien and Ewen Thompson joined New Zealand's playing XI. Vettori, who missed the third ODI, came back to lead the side.

For India, Rohit Sharma replaced injured Sachin Tendulkar and Ishant Sharma made an entry. Munaf Patel warmed the bench.

New Zealand: JD Ryder, BB McCullum, MJ Guptill, LRPL Taylor, GD Elliott, JDP Oram, PD McGlashan, DL Vettori, KD Mills, EP Thompson, IE O'Brien

India: V Sehwag, G Gambhir, SK Raina, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni, RG Sharma, YK Pathan, P Kumar, Harbhajan Singh, Z Khan, I Sharma

India aim to pocket ODI series against Kiwis

An injured Sachin Tendulkar will be missed as India go into the fourth cricket one-dayer against New Zealand on Wednesday, confident of being able to wrap up the series by taking an invincible 3-0 lead.Tendulkar, who has been in superb form, has been ruled out of the match due an abdomen injury but the visitors have the batting might to still get past the Kiwis who have no option but to win the match to stay afloat in the series.

The MRI scan done on India's premier batsman has revealed internal bleeding in his stomach.

"I had stiffness in the region before the third ODI, but I had stretched myself too far. But I should be ready to play in a couple of days time," Tendulkar said.

Considering the momentum the Indians have gained since the debacle in the Twenty20 series, the Blackcaps would have to produce something more than their best to stop the marauding visitors at the Seddon Park tomorrow.

If they succeed, Vettori's men would have served notice as another potential match-winning unit to be reckoned with in the future.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni's troops have been playing a sort of firebrand cricket as there is self-belief, confidence and camaraderie.

In the past, Indians were regarded as paper tigers on tours. But now they are stalking and devouring national team wherever they travel, be it to the antipodes, the African bushveld, Old Blighty or the Caribbean.

Indian cricket has never been so good, so consistent and so dominating. The results have been remarkably encouraging over the last two years or so.

IPL will be responsible for players' security: Modi

In a press conference, IPL chief Lalit Modi has made it clear that the IPL is on and said that the IPL schedule is being fine-tuned every minute. It will continue to be the mega-event it has been billed to be.

He also said that IPL opening ceremony in Mumbai will take place on April 10 and tickets are likely to go on sale from next week.

Tournament will now move to new venues of Ahmedabad and Vishakapatnam. IPL is still trying to get a confirmation from Dharamsala to host matches, he said.

As far as player security is concerned during the tournament, Modi said IPL will be responsible for security of Indian and foreign players till the end of the tournament. He said foreign players would be given security from the moment they land in India to the moment they leave the country. He also clarified that not a single player has contacted IPL over tournament security.

IPl will be coordinating with state governments for security and 90 per cent of states have approved IPL's new schedule.

Modi announced that IPL has a contracted revenue of Rs 10,970 crore this year.

Earlier, the Home Ministry received the revised schedule which has since been forwarded to the police establishments of the 8 states that will be hosting matches.

However, there still seems to be considerable confusion with the IPL saying the government clearance is on track and the ministry saying they're yet to give a final clearance.

Most of the states also continue to have reservations about hosting matches scheduled close to the polling dates.

The involved in the IPL are Delhi, Punjab, West Bengal, Maharshtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra, Karnataka and Rajasthan.

The IPL chief may be gung-ho about the mega cricket event, but the government is far from it. The Home Ministry has said paramilitary forces can be spared in April, but it will be a problem in May.

Tendulkar to miss 4th ODI

Sachin Tendulkar has been ruled out of the fourth ODI against New Zealand due to a stomach strain.
The Indian opener retired hurt with an abdominal injury after scoring a majestic 163 in third ODI at Christchurch.

Tendulkar destroyed the New Zealand bowling attack in Christchurch on Sunday, smashing 15 fours and five sixes before his injury prematurely curtailed his chase for the record ODI score of 194.

"Towards the end I was hopeful I would be able to get it (200) if I stayed there to the 50th over, it was in the vicinity," Tendulkar said.

"In the previous game I got hit in my abdomen by O'Brien and the muscle was quite sore. When I was batting with 65-70, I started feeling a stiffness in that area. But towards the latter half of my innings I started getting a twitch and it kept getting worse. And I knew that I was effectively damaging it and I had reached a stage when I couldn't go on."

IPL on, but no T20 matches on day of counting

Indian Premier League (IPL) Commissioner Lalit Modi on Friday assured that there would be no matches in any city on the day of counting of votes.

Modi said the IPL was on with the duration of the tournament remaining the same but a revised schedule would be released soon. "We are making a new schedule for IPL matches," he said."It's a cumbersome process, because there are blackout dates in several cities due to elections," the former RCA President said.

However, the venue for the opening game of the tournament has been shifted from Jaipur to Mumbai.

Rejecting speculations that the event may be held in another country, Modi said there was no question of moving to another country.

He said that he was looking for alternate venues to allocate IPL matches other than the fixed eight cities.

"We currently have over 14 cities that are available to stage matches, we now have to reduce that list to eight," Modi said.

The IPL organizers tried to avoid a delay to the event by earlier saying they would not need national paramilitaries to provide security, and could get by with local police forces in the host cities.

Modi said he was thankful to the Home Minister for receiving assurances on security.

"We're extremely grateful and thankful to the Home Minister for his clarification that security will be provided for IPL matches," Modi said.

"There's no reservation about security, we have our security experts in and holding discussions with them," he added.

Earlier in the day, Home Minister P Chidambaram had said that Cricket was safe in India but IPL dates needed to be reworked.

SL CRICKETERS RETURNED HOME PICS

Lankan cricketers arrive home amid tight security

Sri Lanka's wounded and shaken cricketers flew into Colombo under tight security early on Wednesday, less than a day after a deadly ambush Sri Lankan skipper Mahela Jayawardene hugs his wife shortly after returning to the country.
Relieved relatives gave the tour party an emotional welcome as the 25-member contingent was led from a specially chartered Sri Lankan Airlines Airbus A320 by team manager Brendon Kuruppu.

Star batsman Thilan Samaraweera and Tharanga Paranavithana, who both received hospital treatment in Pakistan, were placed in an ambulance and taken to a private medical facility in Colombo, a senior official said.

Spin bowler Ajantha Mendis was seen leaving the aircraft with a plaster behind his right ear. A total of seven players and an assistant coach were hurt in the attack, which left eight people dead.

Vice-captain Kumar Sangakkara, who was another wounded in Tuesday's gun and grenade assault, told reporters that the players had been asked by team management not to speak with reporters.

Sports Minister Gamini Lokuge also met the team at Bandaranaike International Airport, where security was tight, the official said.

There has been no claim of responsibility for the attack, but some Sri Lankan officials fear a possible link with the military offensive against ethnic Tamil rebels in the island's north.

Sri Lankan team was airlifted from Gaddafi Stadium by helicopter before flying out of Lahore late on Tuesday, abandoning a tour which was only arranged when India refused to visit.

India win Napier ODI

Shrugging off the T20 defeats, India on Tuesday bounced back with a solid batting display to spank New Zealand by 53 runs on the basis of Duckworth-Lewis method in the rain-marred first cricket one-dayer and take 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
India rode on skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's unbeaten 84 and blistering half-centuries by Virender Sehwag (77) and Suresh Raina (66) to rattle up 273 for 4 in 38 overs and then put up a disciplined bowling performance to prevent the Kiwis from upstaging them.

Rain-interruptions added to the woes of New Zealand, who were forced to chase a stiff target of 216 from 28 overs when the drizzle halted play for the second time in the match. The Kiwis could manage just 162 for nine.

They were 111 in 20.5 overs while chasing original 274 from 38 overs when play was suspended and on the resumption the Kiwis were left with a daunting task of scoring 105 runs off 7.1 overs.

After the first rain break, the match was reduced to 38 overs per side.

Martin Guptill (64) and Ross Taylor (31) scored the bulk of the runs for the hosts. Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh (3/27) and paceman Praveen Kumar (2/28) shone with the ball for India.

India were on top of their game as their batting, despite a lull in the middle overs was awesome, with Suresh Raina providing the thrust with a 39-ball 66. Their bowling was sharp and disciplined, with Praveen Kumar removing the wind out of the Kiwi sail with two crippling blows at the start, and Harbhajan Singh scything through the latter order.

The Black Caps did well to recover from a staggering start through Guptill and Taylor but the asking rate was always way too high to be achieved under lights.

Requiring a stifling 105 off 43, they lost wickets in a trice as Harbhajan Singh produced a brilliant spell and came close to getting a hat-trick in the 24th over.


New Zealand lost four wickets in five balls to capitulate to their worst defeat in the season.

Apart from Raina, who savaged the Kiwi attack with casual disdain Sehwag, Dhoni also contributed to India's cause. Sachin Tendulkar (20) and Yusuf Pathan (20 not out) also chipped in their mite.

Earlier, a 141-minute rain-break had little effect on Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar as the celebrated openers went about caning the Kiwi pace attack without much ado.

India were cruising along at 69 for no loss in the tenth over when Tendulkar, venturing to work the ball to third man, nicked Ian Butler to Brendon McCullum.

India: Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt/wk), Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Praveen Kumar, Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel.

New Zealand: Jesse Ryder, Brendon McCullum (wk), Martin Guptill, Ross Taylor, Jacob Oram, Neil Broom, Grant Elliott, Daniel Vettori (capt), Kyle Mills, Ian Butler, Iain O'Brien.

Home Minister P Chidambaram has told NDTV that the Indian Premier League should be postponed until the General Elections are over.

BCCI on Tuesday expressed its sorrow and anguish over the dastardly attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore, where six players were injured.

"We pray for the speedy recovery of the injured cricketers, and sympathise with their families and compatriots," BCCI Secretary N Srinivasan said in a statement issued here.

"The BCCI stands alongside Sri Lanka Cricket in this hour of crisis," he said.

At least six Sri Lankan cricketers were injured when unidentified gunmen opened fire at them killing five police personnel escorting the team to the Gaddafi stadium for the third day of the second Test.

The injured cricketers include Kumar Sangakkara, Ajantha Mendis and Thilan Samaraweera.

New Zealand beat India by 5 wickets, win series

New Zealand beat India by five wickets in the second and final Twenty20 cricket international in Wellington to take the series 2-0.
Brendon McCullum broke the deadlock on the last ball of the match when a skied single carried the hosts to 150 for five. McCullum topscored with an unbeaten 69 from 55 balls.

Yuvraj Singh led India's 149 for six with 50 off 34 balls. New Zealand won the opening match by seven wickets in Christchurch on Wednesday. Brendon McCullum was declared "Man of the Match" and "Man of the Series". A five-match cone-day series between the teams starts in Napier on Tuesday.


Score Board :

New Zealand won by 5 wkts

IND: 149/6 in 20 overs

NZ: 150/5 in 20 overs

New Zealand beat India by 7 wickets in 20-20

New Zealand's Brendon McCullum's (56*) splendid fifty took the hosts to a convincing 7-wicket victory over Team India in the Twenty20 opener at Christchurch on Wednesday.

He was the Man of the Match for the day. For India, Zaheer, Harbhajan and Ishant bowled well to take a wicket each but the efforts weren't enough to take their side home.

Lanky pacer Ishant Sharma struck on his first ball to get the breakthrough for his side by clinching opener Jesse Ryder's (1) wicket.

But the arrival of Martin Guptill spoiled the Indian party and then it only rained fours and sixes.Guptill (41) sliced Indian bowling to take the score 54/1 at the end of five overs.

Ace spinner Harbhajan Singh was then brought into attack and it clicked. The offie caught Guptill plumb to deprive the batsman his deserving fifty.

The efforts seemed to be futile as by then he had already done the damage. Ross Taylor then joined confident McCullum at the crease.

Taylor kept the momentum to hit 31 runs and added on to the Indian worries before Zaheer Khan uprooted his leg stump.

Jacob Oram walked in for the final few overs.India was not left with many options in the end as McCullum's solid strokes in and outside the boundary left the visitors beleaguered.

He hit a brilliant 49-ball fifty to get Black Caps their first win of the series.

India kicked off the Twenty20 opener with their best bet - Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag but the pair couldn't manage to splash its charm and gave away their wickets to pacer O'brien when they were on 6 and 26 respectively.

Sehwag looked confident in the beginning to hit three consecutive massive sixes off Southee but failed to capitalize on the brisk start.

Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma made their way in.Middle-order batsman Sharma, who has been facing a slump in his form recently, here too couldn't make prove his worth.

He was sent back by Ian Butler back after putting just 7 runs to the board. Yuvraj Singh joined Raina at the crease.All hopes were on the stylish hitter Yuvraj (1) but he too failed to revive the Indian innings and was caught napping in front of the wickets by skipper Daniel Vettori.

Then Dhoni's arrival bloomed expectations of a captain's knock.But the skipper failed to read pacer Ian Butler's swirling delivery that removed his off-stump and he made his way back to pavilion on 2 runs. India looked in trouble at 61/5.

The brother charm didn't work on day when it was desperately needed. India hit man Yusuf Pathan looked dangerous and played expectedly over the top when he smashed three consecutive sixes off McCullum. But was unlucky on the fourth ball to be brilliantly caught by Jacob Oram who did a repeat of Australia's Adam Voges' fantastic catch to get rid of Brendon McCullum in Sydney. Soon, brother Irfan joined him back in the pavilion on 12 runs.Kiwis ate up the Indian batting order to leave them gasping on 101 at the loss of seven wickets.

Tailender Harbhajan Singh and Raina were left the responsibility to hit some shots in and around the ground and they played up to the expectations. Raina (61*) hit a timely fifty and Harbhajan (21) supported him well to push the Indian total to 162/8 at the end of the innings.

Earlier, New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori won the toss and decided to bowl first. For India, it is Harbhajan's comeback after his injury and that makes Rvaindra Jadeja cool his heels in the dressing room.Kylie Mills skipped the match while Ross Taylor and Jacob Oram were chosen in New Zealand's playing eleven.

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Yusuf Pathan, Irfan Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma.

New Zealand: Daniel Vettori (captain), Brendon McCullum, Martin Guptill, Ross Taylor, Jesse Ryder, Jacob Oram, Nathan McCullum, Tim Southee, Ian Butler, Iain O'Brien, Ewen Thompson.

Weather keeps India worried

CHRISTCHURCH: World champions India will worry more about the fickle Kiwi weather than the composition and strength of Daniel Vettori's team when they meet New Zealand in the first Twenty20 international at the AMI Park on Wednesday.

The advent of autumn has seen the temperatures drop and there have been sporadic spells of rain, which have offset India's preparation for the match.More than the Black Caps' resilience and home advantage, it will be this cold-windy factor which could ruffle Mahendra Singh Dhoni's all-conquering legion.Given their streak of success in this format and the plethora of talent they have in their ranks, India start as hot favorites in the two-match Twenty20 series.

India team appears to have grown: John Wright

India are more than equipped to shake off the blues of their 2002-2003 on its forthcoming tour of New Zealand, according to the man who was part of the visiting team room in that disastrous outing.
Former India coach John Wright, who is now high-performance manager for New Zealand Cricket, said that he believed the Indians were more than well-equipped for their three-Test, five-ODI series of New Zealand starting with a T20 international in Christchurch on February 25.
"India are one of the better balanced teams in world at the moment - they have got most bases and conditions covered,"

Team India new look

Pathan brothers lead India to victory

India put up a brave front to defeat Sri Lanka by 3 wickets in the one-off T20 international match at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Yusuf Pathan (22) and Irfan Pathan (33) pushed India to win as the visitors won the match with 4 balls to spare.
India started the innings on a shaky note as openers Virender Sehwag (1) and Gautam Gambhir (13) were dismissed in a hurry. While Sehwag was run out, Gautam Gambhir was caught by Weeraratne on Thushara's delivery.
Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh took India past the first fifty as the visitors scored 57/2 in 6 overs. Jehan Mubarak provided a breakthrough as Yuvraj Singh was dismissed. Yuvraj was caught by Dilshan as he made 32 runs.
Debutant Ravindra Jadeja, who was sent in over the likes of Yusuf Pathan, also left in a hurry as India lost wickets quickly.
The run juggernaut started once Yusuf Pathan and Irfan Pathan came at the crease. The duo dealt in sixes and fours to constitute 59 runs for the 8th wicket stand in just 25 balls.
Earlier, skipper Tillakaratne Dilshan (61) led from the front as Sri Lanka made 171/4 in 20 overs against India.
Jayasuriya gave a flying start to Sri Lankan inings as the islanders raced to 53/0 in 5 overs against India. Irfan Pathan provided the first breakthrough as Sanath Jayasuriya (33) was caught by Ishant Sharma.
Jehan Mubarak (13) was caught by Yusuf Pathan on his own delivery as Sri Lanka lose their second wicket.
Yusuf Pathan struck again as Chamara Kapugedera was caught by Virender Sehwag. Skipper Tillakaratne Dilshan made his maiden T20 half-century and departed soon after as he was caught by Raina on Ishant Sharma's delivery.
Sri Lanka could not post a heavy total as Ishant Sharma's 20th over conceded just 3 runs. Kaushalya Weeraratne (10) and Chamara Silva (21) remain not out as the innings came to an end.
Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat against India. For India, Zaheer Khan came in place of L Balaji. Zaheer Khan and Ravindra Jadeja made their T20 debut in this match.
Sri Lankan team left out Dilhara Lokuhettige but included Chamara Silva, Malinga Bandara and Lasith Malinga in the squad.