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India and England head into the third Test at The Oval with plenty at stake: India are a draw away from winning their first series here since 1986, while England face the prospect of their first series loss at home since the Ashes drubbing in 2001. If India avoid a defeat, they will also reverse their trend of squandering away the advantage in a series, as they did in Zimbabwe in 2001, in the West Indies in 2002, in Australia in 2003, in Pakistan in 2004, and in South Africa in 2006.The series has so far has witnessed an even contest between bat and ball, with the bowlers from both teams having plenty of success. The average runs per wickets for this series is 30.13, far lower than the 36.69 in Tests in England since 2002. At The Oval, though, the bowlers could have a tougher time: in Tests since 2000, the runs per wicket here is a healthy 38.86.

England have not lost a match at The Oval since 2002, having won three and drawn two, including the 2002 Test against India. India only need a draw to clinch the series, and if the past record between the two teams is anything to go by, that’s the most likely result this time – the last four Tests between the two teams here have all ended in stalemates.

The last time a Test at this venue between these two sides ended decisively was way back in 1971, when India – propelled by Bhagwat Chandrasekhar’s 6 for 38 – not only earned their first Test win on English soil but also their first series triumph in England.Among the England batsmen playing in this series, Michael Vaughan is the highest run-getter at The Oval. Vaughan has been enjoying a purple patch this season, having averaged more than 60 in the current series and the previous one against West Indies. This is Vaughan’s best run since the 2002-03 Ashes (Click here for Vaughan’s series-by-series record). Add his record at this venue, and against India – he tops the averages in England-India Tests for batsmen who have played at least ten innings – and it’ll be a huge surprise if he isn’t among the runs over the next five days. Kevin Pietersen has been prolific in this series, and he has enjoyed The Oval pitch too, scoring a century and a 96 in four innings.England’s problem, though, has been the form of some of the other batsmen. Andrew Strauss has only managed four fifties in 21 innings since the 2006 Ashes series began, while Ian Bell hasn’t done much better, averaging less than 33 in his last 11 Tests. Bell won’t have pleasant memories of The Oval either – in three Tests he has only scored 88 runs, and bagged a pair in the Ashes Test in 2005.

Although Rahul Dravid will be pleased with the victory at Trent Bridge, he’ll be concerned about his own batting form. His average in the ongoing series is 19.66, his worst since the Border-Gavaskar series in 1999-2000 (excluding one-off Tests). Dravid was among the runs during the practice game against Sri Lanka A, but more significantly, he scored 217 in his only innings at The Oval in 2002.The toss hasn’t played a significant role at The Oval, with the team winning it going on to win 30 Tests and lose 24. The side batting first is marginally better off, having won 31 times, which partially explains the fact that the captain winning the toss has chosen to bat 78 times in 89 games. Since 2000, the team batting first has only lost once in seven matches.The fast bowlers have fared better than spinners of late at The Oval, but that’s only a relative statement. In truth the batsmen have dominated most of the time, irrespective of the kind of attack they’ve been up against. The best match figures at the ground belong to Muttiah Muralitharan; his 16 for 221 came in Sri Lanka’s one-off Test against England in 1998. Also, the most successful opposition bowler is Shane Warne, who picked up 32 wickets in four Tests at The Oval, with 23 of those coming in the two matches held after 2000.

England’s best bowler at The Oval in recent years has been Steve Harmison, whose 18 wickets in four Tests have come at 24.38 runs apiece. The extra bounce on offer here has been ideal for Harmison; if Chris Tremlett, a bowler who Harmison says can exploit the conditions like he used to – or any of the other England bowlers – turns in a match-winning performance, this will be the third successive England-India series to end on a 1-1 scoreline.

Bermuda could be set to stage their first major international match, proving the ICC decides that pitches at the National Sports Centre have improved sufficiently since an inspection last year.The surface was condemned by Andy Atkinson, the ICC’s inspector, in July 2007. “The square at the Sports Centre is good enough for club cricket, but when you’re talking about ODIs or longer games then I’m afraid it’s a no-go,” he said, adding that bringing in soil from abroad was the only way to rectify the situation. That idea was subsequently slammed by the Bermudan government as it contravened the island’s strict laws on the importation of soil.But Cricket Scotland said that it had been contacted by the Bermudan board (BCB) who are confident that ICC approval could come in time for the Intercontinental Cup tie to be played there in mid July. “The process for approving the National Stadium in Bermuda for ICC Intercontinental Cup matches is in place and we hope that a decision will be made towards the end of this week or early next week whether Bermuda will host Scotland in early July,” a spokesman for the ICC told Cricinfo.At the moment, the four-day game is scheduled to be played in Toronto where Scotland will then meet Canada three days later. But of clear concern to Scotland is that if the match is switched to Bermuda then it will present logistical issues in rearranging the initial flights and then transferring on to Canada with little time to acclimatise.”The Bermudians are keeping us in the loop about their plans,” Roddy Smith, the board’s chief executive, said. “The ICC requested them to prepare a four-day wicket for tests and they’ve been playing practise matches on the ground for each of the last three weekends. The tests end this weekend and we understand the ICC will make a decision on the venue for our game during the week. I’d say it’s looking likely that we’ll be told to play in Bermuda.”Obviously there will be a bit more hassle with travel but I’d imagine there are worse places to go than Bermuda.”

New South Wales 281 & 5 for 352 (Hughes 116, Katich 92, Clarke 64) lead Victoria 216 by 417 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Phillip Hughes and Simon Katich both entered the record-books as they guided New South Wales to an almost unbeatable position on the third day of the Pura Cup final in Sydney. Hughes underlined his potential as a future Test player with 116 before Katich and Michael Clarke combined to all but bat Victoria out of the match.The Bushrangers began the day hoping to dismiss the Blues and pursue a target of under 300; they finished facing a 400-plus chase on a pitch that will assist Stuart MacGill. New South Wales ended the day at 5 for 352 with Dominic Thornely on 19 and Beau Casson on 12. As has been the case all summer, one of the key architects of their success was Katich, who made 92 and became the all-time highest run scorer in a Pura Cup season.Katich passed Michael Bevan’s record of 1464 set at Tasmania in 2004-05 and he received a standing ovation from the SCG crowd when he achieved the milestone with a single turned behind square leg off Bryce McGain. Katich ended up with 1506 runs at 94.12, although he was denied a sixth century when he was run out attempting a quick single at the call of his partner Clarke.The other important contribution came from Hughes, the most inexperienced man in a New South Wales side overflowing with international expertise. At 19, Hughes became the youngest player to score a century in a Pura Cup final, beating the previous most junior centurion, Martin Love, who was nearly 21 when he achieved the feat in 1994-95.Although Victoria picked up a few late wickets with the new ball – they grabbed 3 for 22 in four overs – they looked destined to finish the season with only a Twenty20 title having reached the deciders in all three competitions. Their problem was a lack of wickets in the first session. McGain and the part-time offspinner Brad Hodge both looked dangerous and McGain was extracting big turn out of the footmarks but despite some nervy moments Hughes survived, first with Phil Jaques and then with Katich.Runs came quickly in the morning as Victoria strained for wickets and Hughes was lucky to escape when he edged Dirk Nannes just over the slips for a boundary when he was on 14. The stroke was sandwiched between two poor Nannes full tosses that Hughes also put away for fours, and that gave the batsman confidence. He drove Peter Siddle’s half-volleys effectively and brought up his half-century from only 39 deliveries with a cover-driven four off McGain.

The rate slowed after Jaques departed lbw for 23 to a vicious McGain legbreak that zipped out of the rough and stayed so low it struck the batsman’s ankle. Their 75-run opening stand had already frustrated Victoria, and the 145-run partnership between Hughes and Katich that followed was even more irritating for the visitors.Hughes eased his rate but not his concentration, reaching triple-figures for the first time in only seven first-class games. His hundred came from 153 deliveries and he fought off McGain, who finished with 1 for 72 and was disappointed not to make more of the SCG pitch. It was Victoria’s secondary legspinner, Cameron White, who finally removed Hughes for 116. An attempted slog-sweep was top-edged to point, where McGain took the chance but must have been annoyed after Hughes struck him for six with a similar stroke two overs earlier.Katich was typically obdurate and only hit five fours, instead working the ball to all parts of the ground. He said before the match he had not even thought about breaking Bevan’s record and was solely focused on securing the title for his state; there might turn out to be a strong correlation in the two aims. His century did not eventuate as Andrew McDonald at cover threw down the stumps at the striker’s end to find Katich well short.Clarke, seemingly reacting to his costly call, vented his frustration in the next over with three boundaries off Siddle, including a perfectly clean aerial drive over the bowler’s head. Siddle’s revenge came quickly, however, when Clarke was caught behind for 64 backing away and attempting a cut. Brad Haddin followed when he too tried to slog Siddle and played on, but the lead was already approaching 400.Victoria believed they had a chance to win if they could dismiss New South Wales before the close of the third day, which they failed to achieve. Over the past few years they have been better than most teams at chasing huge targets, however with two days to play on a wearing SCG pitch against a Test-quality attack, it will take a miraculous effort for the Bushrangers to stop the Blues securing the last Pura Cup before the competition changes its name.

Australian lounge rooms are about to lose a piece of furniture with the staging of the final tri-series. For 29 years the tournament has been central to the country’s summer sport-watching, but over the past decade the concept faded, was patched up, and finally wore beyond repair. In 2008-09 the CB Series will be replaced by two head-to-head contests and Australia, India and Sri Lanka are the ideal teams to farewell the once revolutionary concept.The world champions, the World Cup finalists and the side that pushed Australia over four Tests during the past month will all fight for the piece of history. This was how it was meant to be in the beginning, when the big names dominated Kerry Packer’s idea, but as the event evolved the contests became one-sided, the tournaments were more drawn out and the winners were usually Australia. Only three times since 1993-94 have Australia not been successful, including last year against England.There may be danger lurking again. While India are fourth and Sri Lanka sixth on the ICC rankings, they are teams that have the star quality to threaten Australia. Sanath Jayasuriya often lifts mountains when Ricky Ponting’s men are in the way – although his tour has started in pain with a cut jaw against Tasmania – and Kumar Sangakkara performed outstandingly during the Test tour here in November. Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag have similar successful attitudes when coming up against men in green.Both squads are also regenerating and the influx of youth will lift both the fielding and collective energy of the units, which are crucial aspects when trying to challenge Australia at home. The tournament opens with Australia facing India at the Gabba on Sunday in a re-match of Friday’s one-sided Twenty20 affair in Melbourne. Australia took the game in the 12th over and they want to build on the win.”At the Twenty20 it was a good start,” Ponting, who missed the match, said. “We wanted to set the tone for the entire tour there.”Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the India leader, tried to show he was not bothered by the size of the defeat. “It should be taken as a practice game,” he said. “If you think too much about the things that have happened I don’t think you will gain anything from it.”Australia have fitness worries over Ponting (lower back) and Matthew Hayden (right thigh) while India will be without Yuvraj Singh, who should be desperate to show his limited-overs class after his problems in the Test series. However, rain could be the biggest problem for all three teams – India play Sri Lanka here on Tuesday – and the forecast is for more wet weather throughout the week.Packs of fast bowlers might be the best options on a pitch that spent much of Saturday under the covers, but Australia will wait until Sunday morning to name their squad. Adam Voges is on standby for Ponting and Hayden while Ashley Noffke has come in for Stuart Clark, who remains in Sydney for personal reasons. Once calls have been made on the two injured players, Ponting will decide whether to go with an all-pace attack on a greenish pitch or use Brad Hogg, the specialist spinner.India’s problem is shoe-horning a bunch of young enthusiastic talent. They have brought a modern team to Australia and the selectors have shown that all-round skills are preferable to age. Ponting was surprised Sourav Ganguly missed the squad, but at some point hard-won reputations have to make way for regenerating teams.Despite the 2-1 series loss, India showed Australia have become less dominant in the Test arena and the hosts are intent on holding their edge in the one-day format. Ponting also wants to make up for the defeat to England last season.”For the first time in a long time we didn’t win the series,” he said. “We’ve got a bit of a repayment to do there.” Australia have one last chance to make the tri-series a pleasant memory rather than something that has provided lasting discomfort.Australia (probable) 1 Adam Gilchrist, 2 Matthew Hayden, 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Michael Clarke, 5 Andrew Symonds, 6 Michael Hussey, 7 Brad Haddin, 8 James Hopes, 9 Brett Lee, 10 Nathan Bracken, 11 Mitchell Johnson.India (probable) 1 Sachin Tendulkar, 2 Virender Sehwag, 3 Gautam Gambhir, 4 Dinesh Karthik, 5 Robin Uthappa, 6 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt, wk), 7 Suresh Raina, 8 Irfan Pathan, 9 Harbhajan Singh, 10 Sreesanth, 11 Ishant Sharma.

The Indian media’s rocky relations with the Indian Premier League have taken a downward turn with the News Broadcasters Association (NBA), whose members control the major national news channels, deciding to put its coverage of the IPL on hold from Tuesday midnight until there is a resolution to problems related to coverage it had raised with league officials.”As far as we are concerned, two issues need to be sorted out before we can go ahead with IPL coverage,” Annie Joseph, the Association’s secretary general, told Cricinfo. “One relates to access to footage and the other to accreditation guidelines.”It’s understood that the channels are unhappy about the exhorbitant rates that are being charged for news clips and also the stipulation that footage can’t be used in archival form.A statement released by the NBA on Tuesday night said it sought clarifications from the IPL but, instead of receiving a response from either Lalit Modi, the IPL’s chairman and commissioner, or any of the other members of the IPL’s governing council, it instead received a reply from an official of the Sony Network, which along with World Sports Group had bought the TV rights for the IPL.The statement said the NBA’s questions didn’t fetch a satisfactory response as Sony was “not in a position to discuss matters other than access to footage, and that any offer Sony could make in that regard was limited within the framework of its contract with IPL.””As Sony was by its own admission neither authorized nor competent to deal with the subject comprehensively, and moreover may reasonably be assumed to have a direct conflict of interest in extending use rights to television news channels, it is unacceptable to us to deal with them in this matter,” the NBA said.The NBA, based in New Delhi, includes leading the news broadcasters such as TV Today, NDTV, Times Global Broadcasting Company, TV18, Global Broadcast News Limited and Zee News.

South Africa have named an unchanged squad for the second and final Test against New Zealand at Centurion starting on Friday. South Africa won the first Test at the Wanderers in Johannesburg by a record margin of 358 runs.Batsmen Boeta Dippenaar and Neil McKenzie, who were considered for selection for the first Test, will now have to wait until the home series against West Indies next month to fight for a place in the squad. Both played for South Africa A in the tour match against the New Zealanders in Potchefstroom, with McKenzie scoring 182 while Dippenaar was unfortunate to miss out on his hundred. Dippenaar also captained the side to an 85-run win. Fast bowler Morne Morkel wasn’t considered for both Tests, owing to the injury he picked up in Pakistan.Squad: Graeme Smith (capt), Ashwell Prince, Herschelle Gibbs, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers, Mark Boucher (wk), Andre Nel, Paul Harris, Dale Steyn, Makhaya Ntini, Shaun Pollock

Anil Kumble has accused Australia of not playing in the spirit of the game in a heated finish to a Test that continued the ill-feeling between the teams. After a match filled with controversy it was revealed the BCCI would request Steve Bucknor, the “incompetent” official, be replaced for the third Test in Perth while Kumble will review the pre-series catching agreement he had with Ricky Ponting, who aggressively defended his integrity.”Only one team was playing with the spirit of the game, that’s all I can say,” Kumble said after a day that included a horrible decision for Rahul Dravid and a claimed low, slip catch by Michael Clarke against Sourav Ganguly. The dismissal was sealed when Ponting told the umpire Mark Benson it was out, although television replays were, as usual, not conclusive.”We’d like to play hard on the field and expect that from Australia as well,” Kumble said. “I’ve played my cricket very sincerely and honestly, that’s the approach my team takes, and we expect that from Australia as well. Sometimes it happens that in the heat of the moment you take those chances and then probably don’t say anything on that. It’s a part of the game.”Australia’s sprint to victory with seven balls to spare was also overshadowed by the charges of racism tabled against Harbhajan Singh, a complaint which was raised on the field by Ponting, and an India team official was angry at the treatment towards the side during the 122-run defeat. India suffered heavily due to the poor umpiring and Chetan Chauhan, the India manager, believed they would not have lost if they had received 50% of the contentious calls.”The way the umpiring was, the team is agitated and upset,” he said. “A lot of decisions have gone against us. Of course a few went against the Australians also.”The crucial rulings involved Bucknor and Andrew Symonds, who was given not-out to a loud edge when he was 31 – he made 162 – and today he dismissed Dravid caught-behind when the ball flicked the batsman’s pad. “Had some of the decisions, I would say 50% of them, were received in our favour, the result would have been different,” Chauhan said. “It really affected us. We’re not saying this because we have lost the game. It was for everybody to see.”Bucknor and Mark Benson both had matches to forget and Bucknor is due to stand in Perth from January 16. However, Chauhan said the BCCI was lodging “a strong protest” with the ICC “so that some of the incompetent umpires do not umpire in the rest of the series”.The Indians were not the only ones fuming. Ponting reacted angrily when asked about his appeal for a catch against Mahendra Singh Dhoni that was ruled not out because the batsman did not hit it. The ball ballooned away from Ponting at silly point and he dived to make an athletic take, which sparked loud appeals, but replays seemed to show it touching the grass.”There’s no way I grounded that ball. If you’re actually questioning my integrity in the game, then you shouldn’t be standing there,” Ponting told an Indian journalist. “What I did in the first innings, doesn’t that explain the way I play the game?” Ponting told the umpires he had not accepted an edge cleanly despite the appeals from the players around him.”I’m saying I’m 100% sure I would have caught that catch off Dhoni,” Ponting said. “As it turned out it was given not out anyway, am I right or wrong?”Adam Gilchrist also took aim at criticism of Australia’s delay in closing their second innings today, shouting “How about that declaration, Tony Greig” while Ponting was conducting a radio interview. The Indian media also made an official complaint to the BCCI about what a journalist called the “humiliating” treatment from Ponting during an abbreviated press conference before he attended the hearing involving Harbhajan.Ponting believed there was nothing wrong with Australia’s on-field conduct during the match. “I have absolutely no doubt about this match being played in the right spirit,” he said. “There’s been one little issue that’s come out of the game, otherwise the spirit between both teams in both Tests has been excellent.” In Sydney Kumble and India disagreed.

Gautam Gambhir’s good recent form and the fact that he hadn’t been persisted with recently helped him win a spot ahead of his Delhi team-mate Virender Sehwag, Mahendra Singh Dhoni revealed at the end of the game.Dhoni had said on Sunday that the duo were competing for one berth and justified his decision to go with Gambhir, who repaid the faith with a valuable 44. “He has done consistently well at this level,” Dhoni said. “He has been unfortunate in the past as some others have been given preference over him. [His longest run] in the team was only six matches in a row and he was Man of the Match in quite a few games.”Dhoni also suggested that Gambhir would be persisted with for a few more games. “I wanted to give him a few more matches before resting him and giving opportunities to others. And the way he played today he deserves his place in the side. He batted quite superbly.”It means Sehwag, who replaced Rahul Dravid in the squad, might have to wait a while before his comeback. There was some speculation about Sehwag missing the game in the wake of his father’s death but Dhoni had said he was in “good nick and hitting the ball well”.Dhoni’s promotion to No. 4, ahead of Yuvraj Singh, was also not in keeping with the script. He’s batted in that position on just eight earlier occasions, the last being the Chandigarh game against Australia. He entered at a tricky 96 for 2 and left after an assured half-century, with only 15 needed for victory. “I am flexible about it,” Dhoni said when asked if it was a sign of things to come. “I’ve said in the past that I need someone to fit in my place at No. 6 or 7. Today we needed a left and right-hand combination. Afridi was bowling offbreaks to left-handers, and legbreaks to the right-handers. That encouraged me to promote myself.”Dhoni wanted his side to look at each game as a one-match series, maintaining the same intensity throughout. “Starting the series with a win will help the team. It helps the team’s confidence, and the momentum goes your way. But we have to keep things right in the coming matches as well. It is not just about doing things right in one match. We have to do it throughout the series.”While Dhoni said 280 would have been a “winning score” his counterpart, Shoaib Malik, didn’t think Pakistan were a few runs short. “I think 230-240 was a good target. It was defendable. The difference was that we dropped catches. If we had taken them, the result would have been totally different. Fielding let us down.”He was talking about the two chances that Gambhir offered, off successive Shoaib Akhtar deliveries when he was on 7 and 11. Both were identical chances with the ball deflecting off the edge and flying between the wicketkeeper and Younis Khan at first slip. Instead of targeting his bowlers, Malik stressed on the fielding concerns instead. “We gauged the pitch and picked our best bowling attack. A fit Shoaib is an asset. He is our best option and is currently bowling quick and running in quick. I can’t blame my spinners also. Especially when our fielding didn’t back it up.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

If Australia are to go where no Test team has gone before and win 17 games in a row, they’ll have to pull off the second-highest run chase in the history of the game. Set 413 to win the series in Perth, they finished the third day on a precarious 2 for 65, with Irfan Pathan’s splendid swing bowling once again accounting for both openers. No team has ever chased more than 369 to win a game on Australian soil, and even Don Bradman’s Invincibles didn’t have to score more than 404 at Headingley in 1948.When Australia made good use of occasionally overcast morning conditions to reduce India to 5 for 125, the game was very much in the balance. Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar had been packed off by Brett Lee, and Mitchell Johnson had just induced a waft from Sourav Ganguly. With the lead 243, India once again faced the prospect of an overseas fairytale becoming a nightmare.That it didn’t was due to a classy 79 from VVS Laxman and sterling contributions from the lower order. Pathan preceded his bowling heroics with an accomplished 46 as nightwatchman, and MS Dhoni showed remarkable restraint in compiling a doughty 38. The biggest irritation for Australia though was RP Singh, who smacked Andrew Symonds for six during the course of an entertaining 51-run partnership that stretched the lead beyond 400.Australia’s cause was also severely hampered by an appalling over-rate. Having bowled a dismal 22 overs in the morning, Ricky Ponting had no option but to turn to spin in the afternoon. Symonds and Michael Clarke bowled 21 overs between them in the middle session, with Lee being reintroduced just 20 minutes before tea.The respite from Lee and the relentlessly accurate Stuart Clark gave India freedom to exhale and build. Pathan had fallen to Clark soon after lunch, edging to slip, and he was magnificent right though, giving nothing away and constantly beating Dhoni’s swishes outside off stump. But once he went off, and the Clarke-Symonds combo took over, India cut loose. Laxman played a superb off-drive off Clarke, and after dawdling 41 balls for five, Dhoni’s patience finally snapped.He thumped Clarke over long-on for six, and then hit Symonds to the other side of the sightscreen. One ball whizzed past Clarke’s outstretched fingertips, and when Symonds speared one in, he jumped out to deposit it into the crowd at long-off.At the other end, Laxman was all elegance, clipping the ball through the leg side and driving beautifully. He reached his fifty from 97 balls, and Australia’s frustration mounted by the minute before Symonds offered some relief. Dhoni, who combined patience and impetuosity, miscued a paddle sweep behind to Gilchrist, and Anil Kumble lasted just four balls. But RP and Laxman carried on merrily for 17 overs, and by the time Clark and Lee returned to mop up, the target was an intimidating one.The morning session had been much more even, with quick scoring offset by the loss of four wickets. Lee’s pace and swing whipped out Dravid and Tendulkar, the cornerstones of the first innings, and it was left to Pathan to lead the side towards a competitive total.

Struck a painful blow on the shoulder by Lee early on, he left the bulk of the early scoring to Virender Sehwag, again in stand-and-deliver mood. Two flays through the off side off Clark left no one in any doubt about his intentions, but Lee should have had him soon after. Michael Hussey couldn’t hold on to a low chance at gully though, fumbling even at the second attempt.It wasn’t a costly miss though. Sehwag hadn’t added to his 43 when Clark summoned up a superb delivery that cut back to crash into the stumps via the pad. Sehwag had fallen to similar deliveries many times over the past two seasons, and Clark had clearly done his homework.Dravid struck one peachy off-drive, but then fenced at a Lee delivery that swung away at pace. The appeal from behind the stumps was spontaneous, and as Dravid trudged off disconsolate, the stadium rose to welcome Tendulkar back to the arena where he played his greatest Test innings (that 114 in 1992).Lee almost had him first ball, squared up by a superb delivery, but the edge streaked to the boundary. And though he did play the shot of the morning, a stunning drive straight past Lee, it was the bowler who had the last word, with pace and movement off the pitch trapping Tendulkar right in front.With Ganguly departing for a blob, flirting with a Johnson delivery that shaped away, it required something special to tilt the balance back India’s way. They got it too, from Pathan and Laxman. Pathan struck a couple of gorgeous shots down the ground and also drove through the covers beautifully when the bowlers overpitched. There were moments of good fortune too, an edge that flew through the slip cordon, and a vociferous leg-before appeal from Johnson that might have gone on to clip leg stump.At the other end, Laxman’s ability to work the ball away with those wonderfully supple wrists evoked a few oohs and aahs, but by the time tea had been taken, they were replaced by desperate chants of “Boring, boring”. A crowd that hadn’t seen Australia lose here since the days when the Caribbean still produced great fast bowlers was slowly soaking in the reality that yet another golden run might have come to a shuddering halt at Indian hands.

India women have named uncapped 15-year-old batsman Shafali Verma in their T20I squad for the first three – of five – games of the series against South Africa, which starts on September 24 in Surat. Another teenager, 19-year-old allrounder Pooja Vastrakar, who debuted in 2018, has been recalled to the team that will be led by Harmanpreet Kaur.Alongside that of Harleen Deol, the selection of Verma and Vastrakar seems to signal a decided move towards youth as they come in to replace the likes of Ekta Bisht, Komal Zanzad and Mithali Raj, who retired from T20Is on Tuesday.Raj will continue to lead the ODI squad, where D Hemalatha returns after having missed the ODIs against England earlier this year.Verma, who has never played at the senior level, was among the brightest players in the Women’s T20 Challenge in May, impressing the likes of Dani Wyatt, her team-mate at Velocity, with her hitting ability at the top of the innings. She had previously rocked the domestic T20 scene with Haryana during the 2018-19 senior women’s inter-state T20 tournament, making 186 runs in six innings at a strike rate of 187.87, including a tournament-high 128 off 56 balls against Nagaland.For Vastrakar, it’s a first stint with the team since June 2018, with an injury keeping her away from Women’s World T20 last year. The seam-bowling allrounder scores at a rate of 137.09 and has taken 12 wickets at 18.50 in a career of 11 T20Is, and could partner one of Shikha Pandey and Arundathi Reddy in India’s seam attack. Mansi Joshi is also in the mix with a return to the squad, while the spin options remain largely the same as the one that lost the series to England, with the addition of Harmanpreet, who had missed that series.For the three-match ODI series, which starts on October 9 in Vadodara, Mona Meshram has been left out of the squad following a dip in performances in recent times. Meshram made ducks in both her innings against England, and was among the batsmen who copped criticism during India’s below-par Asia Cup in 2018. Tamil Nadu’s Hemalatha takes her place in the squad, while Deol has been left out, having previously been named for the England series. Kaur returns to the ODI set-up as vice-captain.Veda Krishnamurthy continues to miss out from the ODIs, but has retained her spot for the T20Is despite her three single-digit scores in her last four innings. Taniya Bhatia is the wicketkeeper in both squads.India squad for first three T20Is: Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Smriti Mandhana (vice-captain), Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Taniya Bhatia (wicketkeeper), Poonam Yadav, Shikha Pandey, Arundhati Reddy, Pooja Vastrakar, Radha Yadav, Veda Krishnamurthy, Harleen Deol, Anuja Patil, Shafali Verma, Mansi JoshiIndia squad for ODIs: Mithali Raj (captain), Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (vice-captain), Punam Raut, Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma, Taniya Bhatia (wicketkeeper), Jhulan Goswami, Shikha Pandey, Mansi Joshi, Ekta Bisht, Poonam Yadav, D Hemalatha, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Priya Punia