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Sachin Tendulkar wasn’t in his usual cheerful press conference mood, his slightly sombre interaction standing out on a day when he joined Virender Sehwag as the Indian with most double-centuries.When the day began, Tendulkar was a stroll away from his sixth double, and many hoped for what would have been a maiden triple. Missing out on that elusive landmark, though, was not playing on his mind. “As far as scoring runs is concerned, you try to score as many as you can,” he said. “Sometimes you manage them, sometimes you don’t. The effort is in my hands, not the result. I have always tried my best to contribute. It is about what I want to do for my team. And I will not compromise on that.”Perhaps his mood had to do with the way the rest of the batting collapsed, not slamming the door on the Australians. The four wickets after him added just nine runs against pretty unspectacular bowling. As a result, India can’t be assured of the series win after nine days of gruelling Test cricket during which they have won most of the crucial moments.”Disappointed to lose five wickets in the span of 45 to 50 runs in the morning but such is the game,” Tendulkar said. “I think we have come back very well. Bowlers did a fantastic job. It’s going to be a big day for us tomorrow. The Test match is at a critical stage. It’s all about how we deal with pressure and apply ourselves.”A special moment during his double-century didn’t have much to do with Tendulkar. It was when M Vijay reached his maiden century. Tendulkar looked the happier of the two as he hugged the youngster and had a long chat with him. It was reminiscent of his reaction when Suresh Raina reached his first hundred alongside him against Sri Lanka in July. Being with them reminds Tendulkar of the time he scored his first century. It is a feeling not many know, and Tendulkar of course has gone on to score 48 more. There cannot be a better person to share that feeling with if you are a young upcoming batsman.”Scoring the first hundred is always special and I am sure the players will never forget that moment,” Tendulkar said. “However many more hundreds you score after that, but the first hundred is always special. All these guys have been really working hard, it is wonderful to see the guys working hard in the nets and applying themselves in the big games, and also becoming successful. It is wonderful to our cricket and they deserve it.”Along the way, 11 of those 49 hundreds have come against a side that has dominated world cricket for most of Tendulkar’s playing days. “I just got to know that I have got 11 hundreds against Australia,” Tendulkar said. “I don’t believe in counting. It feels nice. To score runs against a top side is obviously satisfying and it has been a great challenge playing against them.”Tendulkar’s focus, though, remains on the final day’s play of another Test that has swung this way and that, and neither team holds clear ascendency going into the finale. “We know that if our opposition has scored 470 and it is there on the board, you have to chase it to stay in the game and then at one stage also on the top of the game,” Tendulkar said. “These challenges are something we all look forward to, we don’t want to take anything for granted. It’s going to be exciting and that’s what I can say. It’s going to be a wonderful day.”

Match facts

Wednesday, September 15
Start time 1330 (1130 GMT)Central Districts will need Mathew Sinclair to fire if they are to beat Victoria•AFP

Big Picture

If Central Districts Stags are not up for this match, they will never be up for a match. It might be just a club game, but New Zealanders love nothing better than a sporting contest, any sporting contest, against the Aussies. And the feeling most of the time is mutual.Last Saturday 70,288 were at the ANZ Stadium in Sydney to watch the All Blacks beat the Wallabies 23-22 in an epic rugby Test. Earlier that week, their women’s netball teams played out nearly a dream series-decider in Auckland: 22-22 at halftime, 31-31 at the end of the third quarter, with Australia winning 46-40 in the end.Central Districts might be unfancied, they might have been blown away by Chennai Super Kings, they might be missing Ross Taylor and Jacob Oram, but expect a feisty effort against the Australian champions, Victoria Bushrangers.And if Victoria are not up for this one, they won’t be up for many others. Not only will they be playing a New Zealand side, they will be smarting from the hiding dished out to them in their first game by the Warriors. Very rarely are Australian cricket sides so outplayed. There is enough quality in their side to bounce back emphatically, and Central Districts will need a smashing start to the game if these two are to live up to the tightness of the recent matches between teams from the two countries.

Team news

Victoria were pretty one-dimensional in their first game, and might look to employ Bryce McGain’s spin to give their attack some variety. Shane Harwood is out with a calf injury, which means Peter Siddle is in line for a spot. And they will have a hard look at Glenn Maxwell’s role in the side: he didn’t bowl in their first game, and batted at No. 7.Victoria Bushrangers (likely) 1 Rob Quiney, 2 Brad Hodge, 3 Aaron Finch, 4 David Hussey (capt.), 5 Andrew McDonald, 6 Matthew Wade (wk), 7 John Hastings, 8 Clint McKay, 9 Peter Siddle/James Pattinson, 10 Bryce McGain, 11 Dirk NannesCentral Districts Stags (likely) 1 Peter Ingram, 2 Jamie How, 3 George Worker, 4 Mathew Sinclair, 5 Kieran Noema-Barnett, 6 Bevan Griggs (wk), 7 Brendon Diamanti, 8 Doug Bracewell, 9 Adam Milne, 10 Michael Mason, 11 Mitchell McClenaghan

Watch out for …

Mathew Sinclair has been a frustrating figure in New Zealand cricket by being inconsistent at the international level but remarkably consistent in first-class cricket. He was declared the MVP in domestic cricket as recently as last year. He is also the most experienced batsman in the line-up, and needs to carry it.Brad Hodge, unlike Sinclair, has experienced more frustration than he has dished out. Not only has he excelled in domestic cricket, he is also the second-highest run-getter in this format of the game, behind his captain, David Hussey. He will know more is expected of him than he delivered in their first game.

Key contest

Central Districts medium-pace v Victoria batsmen: Michael Mason, Adam Milne and Mitchell McClenaghan, who started off well against Chennai Super Kings, will have to drag down the Victoria top order to prevent this from becoming a one-sided contest.

Stats and trivia

• David Hussey and Albie Morkel (128 matches each) are jointly the most capped players in the T20 format. The race is on, and who comes out leading will depend on which team goes farther in the Champions League.
• David Hussey and Brad Hodge have won 12 Man-of-the-Match awards each, more than any other player.

Quotes

“We’ve got to regroup pretty quickly and play some A grade cricket.”

Scorecard
Yusuf Pathan was in the runs again as Baroda Cricket Association XI eased to a four wicket win over Gujarat Cricket Association XI in the third match of the tri-series tournament, moving them to the top of the table.Pathan made an unbeaten 65, after scoring a whirlwind century in the first game, to ensure Baroda successfully chased 212. Jaykishan Kolsawala topscored with 84 and Abhijit Karambelkar chipped in with 41, as Baroda with nine overs to spareEarlier, Priyank Panchal anchored Gujarat’s innings with 81 but got little support from the rest of the batsmen. Fellow opener Rajdeep Darbar made 39 but he was the only other batsmen to go past 21 as Gujarat finished with 211 for 8 from ther 50 overs.

Scorecard
Mike O’Shea hit 90 to help the Unicorns pull off a shock three-wicket victory over stunned Worcestershire Royals in a thrilling Clydesdale Bank 40 match at Kidderminster. Needing 278 to win, they reached their target with two balls to spare.O’Shea was the hero with his best one-day score which included five sixes and seven fours off 62 balls. He put on 115 in 13.3 overs for the fourth wicket with Keith Parsons who made 47 to leave embarrassed Worcestershire still searching for their first Group A win of the season after seven attempts.For the Unicorns it was their third win of the season to lift them into fourth place in the table. Bottom-placed Worcestershire slipped to 27 for 3 inside the opening five overs before recovering to make 277 for 7 thanks half centuries by Shakib Al Hassan, Daryl Mitchell and James Cameron.Their shaky start began when Solanki fell to the first delivery by Jonathan Miles, who is familiar with the Chester Road ground having played for Kidderminster in the Birmingham League in 2006 and 2007. The left arm paceman, who finished with three for 49, also trapped Moeen Ali lbw before Alexei Kervzee departed three balls later when bowled off stump by Neil Saker.After that the Unicorns bowlers found life more difficult with Shakib reaching his half century off 42 deliveries with one six and seven fours. He was finally bowled off a inside edge by O’Shea in the seamer’s first full over after taking over from Ed Young, who was forced to temporarily pull out of the attack after damaging his bowling hand.Shakib smacked two sixes and eight fours off 61 balls in his 72 and put on 113 in 18.3 overs with Mitchell, who made 70 before lifting Saker to O’Shea at extra cover. He struck seven fours off 84 balls and put on 76 in 11 overs with Cameron, whose 58 was his highest List A score which contained one six and eight fours off 47 deliveries.The Unicorns soon suffered a blow in their run chase when Chris Murtagh fell to Alan Richardson. Former Worcestershire second team wicketkeeper Josh Knappett, another ex-Kidderminster player, then added 61 in 11 overs with Jackson Thompson who reached his half century off 37 balls after being dropped on three by Shaaiq ChoudryThe 24 year old, who played a couple of second eleven games for Worcestershire last season, was finally removed for 54 containing two sixes and six fours off 46 deliveries. His departure opened the gate for O’Shea and Parsons to help destroy the Royals with their three-figure stand which was ended when Richardson bowled Parsons.Despite further wickets falling the Unicorns kept their nerve, thanks largely to an unbeaten 25 by Neil Hancock.

Here’s something that might surprise you. Simon Katich is statistically Australia’s most successful Test opener of all time. Not Matthew Hayden, not Bill Ponsford. Simon Katich. As Katich shuffled off to the Lord’s pavilion having been caught behind for 80, he sat atop the list of averages for Australians who have opened in at least 20 Test innings.Loping out to the crease to replace Katich was Marcus North. The Australians were hoping Katich’s consistency would rub off on North, who stalls on start-up more often than a learner driver. Three balls later, he was heading back from whence he came, bowled for a duck by a high-class inswinger from Mohammad Asif.How North must envy Katich at the moment. The bookends of Australia’s top six share much in common – they are unfashionable left-handers, they learnt their trade on the bouncy WACA pitch and they’ve each scored four hundreds since the beginning of last year – but consistency isn’t one of those traits.While it’s been a feast-or-famine year for North, Katich has been dining out on opposition attacks and scoffing down every last scrap of a score he can find. Australia’s opener has been so dependable that when he slashed a typical Katich boundary, an uppish cut through gully to reach his half-century, it meant he’d passed fifty in nine consecutive Tests, stretching back to The Oval last year.The innings was pure Katich: barely a memorable shot until he’d reached a half-century, then a few boundaries crunched off loose balls, especially against Shahid Afridi. As he crab-walked across his stumps he was opening himself up to a Pakistan attack hooping balls around corners, but aside from a lucky let-off when he should have been trapped on 2, he was Australia’s rock on a difficult day.”There’s no doubt that it was a tough day all the way through, given the conditions,” Katich said after Australia reached 229 for 9. “At no stage did the clouds break and the sun came through. We knew that it was going to be a hard day out there with the ball swinging around consistently. It would have been nice to get more but at the same time we’ve got nearly 230 runs in the bank.”None of those runs came from the No. 6. Undoubtedly, North deserves his place in the team after rescuing his career with a century and a 90 in New Zealand, but in addition to his four Test centuries, he has been dismissed for 10 or less in more than half of his Test innings.His high backlift makes him especially vulnerable to full, swinging deliveries and that’s precisely what Asif served up. North was lucky to avoid a golden duck, when he could have been lbw had Pakistan noticed the ball hit pad before bat, and two deliveries later his stumps were shattered by a peach of an inswinger. It was that sort of day for the Australians – get your eye in rapidly or get out even quicker.”If you get in, it can certainly be a great place to bat because the outfield is quick,” Katich said. “Once you get used to the pace you can really get set. But vice-versa, there’s always enough happening on days like today where it can be hard for the new guy. I don’t think we saw too many poor shots or anything like that.”It’s true that North was done in by superb bowling, and his position is rightly not in danger on this tour. However, he is the man with the most to lose if Steven Smith performs with the bat in his debut series. Should Smith convince the selectors that he is a viable top-six option – and with a first-class average of more than 50, it’s possible – they will be tempted to push him up and enjoy the luxury of an extra specialist bowler.Fortunately for North, there were no such signs on Smith’s first day of Test cricket. Smith was lbw for 1, one of six Australians who failed to reach double figures. They all needed a little of Katich’s consistency to rub off.

One of the key improvements in England’s recent rise as a one-day side has been their ability to hit sixes and it is clear that power is now a pre-requisite to get into the team. This has led to a number of batsmen reinventing themselves and Ian Bell, who has been recalled to the one-day squad, knew he had to follow suit or get left behind.Bell last played an ODI in November 2008 and his one-dimensional style of batting, perfectly suited to Test cricket, meant he was struggling to find a place in the increasingly forceful limited-overs game. His priority became saving a Test career that looked like falling by the wayside in South Africa last winter, but following a successful tour he was given hope of a future in one-day cricket when he toured UAE with the Lions and now he is back in the limited-overs set up.”I’ve certainly tried to be stronger in terms of hitting over the top but I think it’s about recognising situations when I need to do that and also when to knock it around,” he said. “Going on the Lions trip to Dubai I found a method to my game that worked quite nicely in Twenty20 with a lot of advice from Graham Thorpe.”It’s just a matter of moving that to England. If you are going to bat at the top in the modern game you have to be able to have a mixed game in terms of hitting over the top and being assertive at certain times in the game. I’ve tried to do that with Warwickshire and hopefully I can carry it forward.”His one-day county form certainly suggests that the changes Bell has made are working. He has been making runs at an eye-catching strike-rate of 145.13 in the Friends Provident t20, alongside scoring at better than a run-a-ball in the Clydesdale Bank 40 while maintaining an average over 50 in both. He was under instructions to become more commanding at the crease and take charge of situations, rather than playing in his own bubble.”It’s something Andy [Flower] has spoken to me about,” he said. “It’s something he wants to see more of, he’s seen glimpses of it but more consistently. A few things were asked of me in one-day cricket which I needed to go away and work on with Gilo [Ashley Giles, Warwickshire’s director of cricket] and hopefully the way I have played for Warwickshire is the way England have wanted me to play.”Modern one-day cricket has moved on from guys who play normal shots. You can’t be one dimensional. No one has told me to change as a person but one-day cricket has moved on from what it was 10 or even five years ago. Playing on the subcontinent, and anywhere around the world, you have to have different strengths to your game.”It’s not going to be every game you are going to be required to play like that but I’ve got to show I don’t just have the touch game but the other side as well. It’s trying to get two parts of my game working together.”Bell will hope for a chance to show off his new expansive repertoire in the next two weeks, beginning with the one-off match against Scotland and followed by five against Australia. Plenty can change between now and the start of the Ashes on November 25, but that doesn’t dampen the enthusiasm for some early sparring.”It’s a great time to see where both teams are,” said Bell. “The World Twenty20 final was a great momentum booster for us and I’m sure the Australians will be desperate to do well in the series. It’s a good chance for us to go out and show we are improving.”

P Ranganathan, the former Kerala Ranji batsman, has been appointed coach of the state side for the 2010-11 season. A BCCI Level II coach, Ranganathan had previously coached the state’s Under-14, 19 and 25 sides.TC Mathew, the secretary of the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA), said Ranganathan was appointed based on his impressive work with the South Zone U-25 team in particular. “He is currently the only Ranji Trophy player in the State with a Level II coaching certificate and he knows the players personally,” Mathew told the .A right-handed batsman, Ranganathan played 26 first-class games between 1985 and 1993, scoring 1110 runs at 26.42 with a century and six fifties. His appointment follows the sacking of Vedam Hariharan last season, who was dismissed after just one season. Last November, Hariharan had slapped the KCA with a legal notice claiming Rs 50 lakh in damages for non-payment of salary and unfair dismissal.