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A day after taking charge of the BCCI’s day-to-day affairs, Jagmohan Dalmiya is yet to fill up the key posts of board secretary and treasurer. The sticking point, it appears, is the lack of suitable candidates

Amol Karhadkar04-Jun-2013A day after taking charge of the BCCI’s day-to-day affairs, Jagmohan Dalmiya is yet to fill up the key posts of board secretary and treasurer. The sticking point, it appears, is the lack of suitable candidates, with the possible replacements either occupied with their primary roles in and outside the game or wary of accepting a temporary, high-stakes position.Both Sanjay Jagdale and Ajay Shirke, who resigned as the BCCI secretary and treasurer last week, had conveyed their inability to reconsider their decision on Monday. Shirke told ESPNcricinfo that he had written to the BCCI “before” Dalmiya told the media he would give Shirke another 24 hours to make up his mind. This meant Dalmiya had to swing into action at the earliest, with the board finding itself facing multiple issues and lacking its two main executive officials.And even Dalmiya, a seasoned administrator, can’t do much about the delay in filling up the vacancies – both positions are on an honorary basis – because of a lack of viable options.”Most of the most eligible options don’t want to consider the role since they are either too busy with their primary commitments or due to the fact that none of them are too forthcoming to accept the role as a caretaker at a time when the responsibility is so huge,” a board insider said. “Most of them would prefer to be appointed office-bearers for a full term rather than being appointed as a caretaker for just three months going into the AGM.”Anurag Thakur, the incumbent joint secretary, was clearly the first choice to take over from Jagdale. However, Thakur, an MP and leader of the BJP, the main opposition party, declined the offer since he couldn’t spare “so much time from preparations for the next year’s (general) elections.”With Thakur unavailable, former India captain Anil Kumble and Orissa Cricket Association chief Ranjib Biswal emerged next in line. However, it is unlikely, for different reasons, that either of them would be willing to take up the offer. Biswal is in the UK as the Indian team’s manager for the Champions Trophy and could be there till the tournament is over on June 23. Besides, ESPNcricinfo understands that Biswal, a former MP, is contemplating contesting next year’s parliamentary elections, so he would also not be able to spare a lot of time for BCCI affairs upon his return.Kumble, on the other hand, already wears too many hats. The president of the Karnataka State Cricket Association also heads the ICC’s Cricket Committee and is mentor of Mumbai Indians. His association with an IPL franchise from another region of the country has already invoked opposition from a few KSCA members ahead of the KSCA elections. If Kumble accepts the role, he will either have to quit as Mumbai Indians mentor or be prepared to handle the next episode of the “conflict of interest” series in Indian cricket.This could eventually mean that either Anirudh Chaudhry or SK Nair, two of Dalmiya’s staunch loyalists during the Kolkata businessman’s stint as the BCCI president, could be handed over the crucial responsibility. Chaudhry, son of former BCCI president Ranbir Singh Mahendra, heads the Haryana Cricket Association, while Nair was the BCCI secretary when Dalmiya was dictating Indian cricket’s administration.As for the treasurer’s post, Sanjay Patel, Baroda Cricket Association’s joint secretary who is also a member of IPL governing council, and Biswarup Dey, Cricket Association of Bengal’s treasurer, have emerged as front-runners. Mumbai Cricket Association acting president Ravi Savant, a chartered accountant, may emerge as a dark horse.Besides appointing secretary and treasurer, Dalmiya also has to reconstitute the probe panel to enquire complaints against Gurunath Meiyappan, BCCI president N Srinivasan’s son-in-law who was granted bail in the IPL betting case, Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals. However, it was learned that the office bearers’ appointments was the “top-most priority” and the probe panel’s reconstitution would follow soon after that. ESPNcricinfo’s repeated attempts to get in touch with Dalmiya didn’t materialize since he was “busy with business meetings”.

Top cricketers in Bangladesh have threatened to “stay away” from this season’s Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League after the BCB proposed a change in the players’ transfer system

Mohammad Isam17-Jun-2013Top cricketers in Bangladesh have threatened to “stay away” from this season’s Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League after the BCB proposed a change in the players’ transfer system. The Dhaka Premier League is a city-based domestic one-day competition and is the country’s most popular league.Cricketers’ Welfare Association of Bangladesh, the players’ body, announced the decision after a long discussion with the players on Monday afternoon. They complained about the lack of communication from the BCB, which announced on Sunday that the new system of player transfer – similar to the draft system that is used in American sports – will take place on June 23. The league is slated to begin on July 3.Former Bangladesh player Rajin Saleh read out CWAB’s letter, but Debabbrata Paul, the secretary, said that there was never any official discussion between the two sides, which was one of the reasons for their plan to stay away.”We gave our observations to the Cricket Committee of Dhaka Metropolis (CCDM) in a letter, but they never replied,” Paul said. “We got to know of it from the media that they will start a gradation and rotation policy. So today we took a decision after speaking to the players that we will stay away from the competition.”The BCB never sat with us, so we don’t really know where our differences are. There was no official discussion with them. I had a personal talk with Jalal Yunus, the CCDM chairman.”The main reason for the row is the new players’ transfer system, which replaces the traditional way in which the players negotiated a fee for one season with a Dhaka-based club to play in the tournament.Instead, the players were divided into categories according to a pay structure that started from Tk 22 lakh ($28,300 approximately) for the A+ group of players. A lottery would decide which club gets to pick first from the top category, and after all 12 clubs picked players from that particular category, the next pick would go to the club who selected last in the first category. From there it would proceed sequentially in the next categories.According to CWAB, clubs picking players was against the spirit of the competition and also curbed the players’ freedom to choose which club to play for.”The new system was forgoing the traditional way of players’ transfers and replacing it with a new system of grading and rotation,” CWAB’s statement said. “There was not only financial loss for the players, but professional freedom was hampered.”The BCB didn’t take any immediate action, merely saying that they want an official letter from CWAB. It is also not clear what action the BCB are likely to take against their contracted cricketers, including Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah, who have effectively opposed the board’s decision.Acting CEO Nizamuddin Ahmed said that they still haven’t received any word from the CWAB regarding their latest action. “We haven’t received the players’ decision formally. We will discuss the situation once we receive it.”Otherwise we have pitched a tentative date for the Premier League to start, which is on July 3. We have spoken to players and the players association informally.”

Lancashire have dismissed criticism of the pitch at Old Trafford after wrapping up a convincing eight-wicket victory over Northamptonshire

Myles Hodgson at Old Trafford21-Jun-2013
ScorecardLuis Reece was unbeaten on 22 as Lancashire chased a small target to win inside two days•Getty ImagesLancashire have dismissed criticism of the pitch at Old Trafford after wrapping up a convincing eight-wicket victory over Northamptonshire, their main rivals in Division Two, inside two days.The victory, achieved with three overs remaining after they took an extra half hour to finish the game, reduced Northamptonshire’s lead at the top of the table to 17 points having played a game more, but it was a triumph marred by controversy over the state of the wicket.Despite Jack Birkenshaw, the ECB pitch inspector, clearing the surface after concluding that high-quality seam bowling and average batting were the contributory factors to 18 wickets falling on the opening day, it was not a verdict that satisfied David Smith, Northamptonshire’s chief executive.Smith, who was at Old Trafford for the opening day, claimed the wicket was “akin to an out-ground and a poor one at that” in an interview with the . “What level of preparation went into this wicket?” he said. “We can only guess but it looked underprepared and the scorecard supports this view.”The controversial surface lies several away on the square from that being prepared for the third Ashes Test, which starts on August 1.Mike Watkinson, Lancashire’s director of cricket, not surprisingly disagreed with Smith’s verdict, despite the same pitch being marked as sub-standard last year against Worcestershire. On that occasion Lancashire escaped with a warning because the square had only recently been turned as part of the ground’s re-development.”Jack Birkenshaw has been here on behalf of the ECB during preparation time for the game and for the entire match and in his opinion it has been swnging ball, climatic conditions and poor batting that has led to the wickets,” said Watkinson.”I don’t think there has been anything sinister from the pitch. We had the first day of a Championship match which was played 80 percent of the day under floodlights and the temperature at 25 degrees with extreme humidity and the ball swinging around corners.”Certainly conditions for batting had improved on the second morning, with the sun attempting to break through the cloud cover, enabling Tom Smith to hit an unbeaten 35 and secure a crucial 97-run first-innings lead.For long periods of Northamptonshire’s reply it appeared they would suffer a humiliating innings defeat well inside two days, with Glen Chapple’s new-ball partnership wtih Kyle Hogg once again proving productive. They combined to make an early breakthrough when Kyle Coetzer mistimed a defensive shot against Hogg that looped to Chapple at mid-on.Chapple followed up with a full length delivery that seamed back into David Sales and knocked back his off-stump and James Middlebrook fell to the next ball, shuffling across his stumps to fall lbw to Hogg. At that stage, Lancashire had claimed their last 26 Championship wickets for only 109 runs, with their in-form opening pair claiming all but two.At least Northamptonshire resisted long enough this time to force Lancashire into a bowling change for the first time in 59.1 Championship overs, when left-arm spinners Simon Kerrigan and Stephen Parry, both selected to try and exploit a dry surface, were finally utilised shortly before lunch.Instead of having a major impact, a new pair of Lancashire seamers effectively ended Northamptonshire’s resistance, with Luke Procter and Tom Smith inducing a mini-collapse of four wickets for 45 runs in 12 overs after lunch. Two of those dismissals were self-induced, with Steven Crook chipping Procter to midwicket and David Willey mistiming to mid-on.When David Murphy joined Andrew Hall at the crease for the start of Northamptonshire’s eighth-wicket partnership, they were still trailing by 17 runs but demonstrated that sensible batting could prosper by both scoring half-centuries and forging an 89-run stand, the biggest of the match on either side.They batted together for 31 overs but in sight of setting a potentially testing target for Lancashire to chase in the final innings, they lost wickets in a cluster once again, the last three falling in only eight balls to leave a modest victory chase of 73. Despite losing Procter to the third ball of the reply, edging Willey down the leg side, Lancashire sealed their victory with plenty of time to spare and close the gap on Northamptonshire.Their coach, David Ripley, was less critical of the surface than Smith but he wasn’t impressed with the performance of his batsmen on the second day when conditions eased. “My personal view of the pitch was that if it was a little below par on the first day, it was genuine,” he said.”On day one I had a lot of sympathy against two good bowlers in seamer-friendly conditions and it was tough. I was actually more disappointed today because I thought the wicket was a lot easier and we had two guys really dig in for us and make a substantial partnership but no other partnerships.”

Captain Sami Aslam almost single-handedly set up Pakistan Under-19s’ eight-wicket win over Bangladesh Under-19s in the triangular series at Market Harborough.

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Aug-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsCaptain Sami Aslam almost single-handedly set up Pakistan Under-19s’ eight-wicket win over Bangladesh Under-19s in the triangular series at Market Harborough. His unbeaten century led his side to their second win in the tournament and put them at the top of the points table.Chasing 193 to win, Pakistan got off to a solid start, with Aslam and Imran Butt adding 107 for the first wicket. The game was all but decided by the time Bangladesh ran out Butt in the 29th over. Imam-ul-Haq was the other batsman dismissed, caught and bowled by offspinner Mehedy Hasan, but Aslam remained steady at the other end, his 120 off 142 balls, with 17 fours and a six, spanning the entire Pakistan chase. He added an undefeated 58-run stand with Hussain Talat to secure the match and as in the two previous partnerships, Aslam dominated this one too.After Bangladesh were invited to bat, left-arm seamer Zia-ul-Haq gave Pakistan the first breakthrough with the wicket of Shahriar Sumon in the fifth over. He added two more to his final tally to end up with three for 27, while Mohammad Aftab and left-arm spinner Kamran Ghulam chipped in with two wickets each. Wicketkeeper Jashimuddin top-scored for Bangladesh, his 50 off 67 balls, featuring five fours. He put on Bangladesh’s only fifty-plus partnership with Sadman Islam, who toiled for two hours to make 46 and was run out.The two sides play the next game of the Under-19 tri-series on Sunday at Kibworth.

Misbah-ul-Haq said that the run-outs of Brendan Taylor and Sean Williams, were the turning points during the third and final ODI which Pakistan won by 108 runs to take series 2-1 in Harare

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Aug-2013Misbah-ul-Haq said that the run-outs of Brendan Taylor and Sean Williams, were the turning points during the third and final ODI which Pakistan won by 108 runs to take series 2-1 in Harare. Led by another fifty from Misbah, Pakistan set the hosts a target of 261 after they were put in to bat. But only four Zimbabwe batsmen could reach double figures as they were all out for 152. While Taylor made a 29-ball 26, Williams scored two.”I think the two run-outs were very crucial,” Misbah said. “After the run-out of Taylor, we were very much in the game and when Williams got run-out, that was the crucial stage. After that, the game was in our control.”Misbah, often criticised for his strike rate, stated that the conditions were not easy to bat on and admitted that he was also struggling to middle the ball before unleashing a few boundaries toward the end of the innings.”It was really difficult to score runs,” he said. “I think they were bowling well, they were utilising the conditions well and we were unable to score runs. All their bowlers bowled really well, especially the way they utilised the new ball in the first 20 overs. Chatara bowled particularly well.”I was just not middling the ball, not getting the timing right, so you can say [there was] a bit of pressure, because we lost two wickets and Hafeez got injured. But after that, Umar Amin came in and he gave us momentum and finished it well.”Even though they were outplayed in the series opener, Pakistan came back and won the next two games, scoring nearly 300 in the second ODI and then dismissing Zimbabwe for 152 in the decider to seal the series.”I’m really happy to win this series especially after losing the first game and the way they played,” Misbah said. “The biggest lesson we have learnt is: don’t take any opposition lightly, especially Zimbabwe because they have some experienced players who have been playing international cricket for such a long time. Even in our team, most of the guys have played less games than Zimbabwean players. We should be giving our 100% all the time and pushing ourselves if we want to win against them [in Tests].”The Pakistani selectors were criticised before the start of the tour for picking a full-strength squad and not using the opportunity to test new talent. Unlike India, who toured Zimbabwe with a stand-in captain, Virat Kohli, and handed ODI debuts to four players, Pakistan came with their frontline pacers and spinners and only gave a T20 debut to Sohaib Maqsood. Misbah defended the selectors’ decision and said their current squad was already full of youngsters.”The way we played after the first match, I think the critics who kept saying, ‘youngsters should have been sent’ would have got their answers,” Misbah said. “We have players like Ahmed Shehzad, Nasir Jamshed, Umar Amin, Junaid Khan, who have played 15-20 matches. You can’t have all your 11 players making their debut. Our team is already new and we have to give this team more exposure and experience. We have three-four players who have been playing consistently and have played over a 100 matches. Otherwise all our players are new. Even when we played with our full strength, they [Zimbabwe] gave us a tough time.”Misbah also spoke about Mohammad Hafeez, who injured his left hamstring while batting and had to walk off the field before coming back to bat again later. He also bowled nine overs and picked up two wickets and was named Man of the Series.”He’s feeling well, it’s a little bit of strain,” Misbah said. “Let’s see how the next two days go and I think he will be okay in two days.”The teams will now play two Tests, beginning on September 3, and Misbah said they will have to work on their fast bowling and fielding to perform better. With changes to the team for the longer format, Misbah said their performances will get better with specialist bowlers and better fielders coming in.”We will have a new team for the Tests after a lot of changes and we want to improve in our fast bowling, our lengths we are bowling on in these conditions,” he said. “We especially need to improve our fielding. With some of the specialist bowlers and fielders coming in, I hope we will get better.”

The opening batsman Anton Devcich has been named in New Zealand’s limited-overs squad to tour Bangladesh next month

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Sep-2013The opening batsman Anton Devcich has been named in New Zealand’s limited-overs squad to tour Bangladesh next month. Devcich, 27, is the only uncapped player in the 15-man group for the three one-day internationals and one-off Twenty20 and is expected to open with Hamish Rutherford after Martin Guptill was ruled out due to a broken finger.Fast bowler Adam Milne and allrounder Jimmy Neesham earned recalls but there was no room for wicketkeeper Luke Ronchi, nor allrounder James Franklin, both of whom have been dropped from the Champions Trophy squad. Daniel Vettori was not considered for the tour due to an Achilles tendon injury, while Tim Southee was named in the limited-overs party after being left out of the Test squad following ankle surgery.Devcich, a Northern Districts batsman, scored his maiden first-class century during the New Zealand A tour of India earlier this month and followed that with 48, 1 and 66 in the one-day games against India A. Bruce Edgar, the general manager of national selection, said Devcich had been an impressive one-day performer for some time.”Anton showed very good signs against England last season for New Zealand A and has transitioned from a middle order batsman to an aggressive top order player,” Edgar said. “He is also an outstanding fielder with the ability to contribute as a left arm spin bowling option which will be useful in the sub-continent.”Adam [Milne] returns to the team after a number of injury concerns and he offers the squad genuine pace. We’ve been impressed with his rhythm and pace on the New Zealand A tour of India.”The New Zealand coach, Mike Hesson, said injuries to men like Guptill and Vettori would allow opportunities for others like Neesham, 22, who played three ODIs and three T20s in South Africa last summer. Neesham offers another bowling option but has also displayed his power with the bat, scoring 104 not out from 40 balls for Otago during a Champions League warm-up overnight. “James is another left-handed batsman who is a powerful striker of the ball at any stage of the innings and like Anton and Adam, he’s in good form in India,” Hesson said.Squad Brendon McCullum (capt), Corey Anderson, Anton Devcich, Grant Elliott, Tom Latham, Mitchell McClenaghan, Nathan McCullum, Kyle Mills, Adam Milne, Colin Munro, Jimmy Neesham, Hamish Rutherford, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Kane Williamson.

Kenya squared the two-match T20 series after comfortably beating Afghanistan by 34 runs in Sharjah

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Oct-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsKenya squared the two-match T20 series after comfortably beating Afghanistan by 34 runs in Sharjah. The win was set up by the captain Collins Obuya who batted through the innings to guide Kenya to 149 and then picked up two wickets. Afghanistan’s middle order failed to step up and the side was bowled out for 115.Opting to bat, openers Obuya and Nehemiah Odhiambo got off to a solid start by adding 87 in ten overs. Odhiambo went on the attack to the legspinner Samiullah Shenwari, hitting him for two sixes in an over before the bowler had the last laugh, beating him in flight as he tried to launch another six. Afghanistan pulled things back to restrict Kenya to 149, with Obuya staying unbeaten on 60 with six fours and a six.Afghanistan’s start wasn’t as effective as they lost Mohammad Shehzad in the third over, bowled after hitting Elijah Otieno for two consecutive fours. Shahzad’s opening partner Karim Sadiq fell in the next over, top-edging Shem Ngoche to mid-off. Nawroz Mangal gave the chase a boost with an aggressive 36 off 23 balls that included three sixes. He had taken the score to 68 in the ninth over but was caught at mid-off off Obuya, who took the first of his two wickets.Mangal’s wicket hurt Afghanistan’s chances as the middle order failed to find the boundaries and lost wickets at regular intervals. Otieno took two more wickets to finish with 3 for 16 and Kenya finally registered a win in an otherwise forgettable tour of the UAE, in which they lost two ODIs, an Intercontinental Cup match and the first T20.

India’s tour of South Africa later this year is confirmed, with the BCCI confirming a series of two Tests and three ODIs

Amol Karhadkar21-Oct-2013India’s tour of South Africa later this year has been confirmed by the BCCI, which on Tuesday announced a series of two Tests and three ODIs. The dates and venues for the matches, however, are yet to be announced.*Responding to the BCCI statement, Cricket South Africa said that the venues were being worked out. “Since the confirmation about the fixtures only came this morning, the cricket ops team will work on this now. At this stage we can’t put a date to when the fixtures will be confirmed, but will advise as soon as that process is complete.”The tour’s confirmation came after an assurance from CSA that it would suspend its CEO, Haroon Lorgat, from dealing with matters related to India and the ICC pending an inquiry by the world body into allegations against him. The allegations relate to Lorgat’s role in the statement issued by David Becker, formerly the ICC’s legal head, that the BCCI’s flouting of the FTP could have legal implications. In his statement, released to the media last week, Becker had said it was “improper” to allow a member body to “blatantly disregard an ICC resolution”.The issue was touched upon during the ICC Executive Board meeting in London over the weekend and the BCCI’s demand for an ethics committee inquiry against Becker and Lorgat gained a lot of support. Many ICC Full Members are believed to have expressed their reservations over Lorgat being a part of ICC proceedings. The BCCI, in its release announcing the series, said the ICC “is now considering its legal options” in respect to Becker’s comments.The two boards also said that they have agreed to continue discussions “about the possibility of agreeing further bilateral arrangements … between the two teams, taking into account any scheduling imbalances from previous years”.For now, though, the shortened tour – the original schedule announced by CSA in July had three Tests, seven ODIs and two T20s pencilled in – means a big loss in revenue for the South African board: it stands to lose R200 million (approx. US$ 20m). Also, it is is very likely that the smaller venues, where matches are usually played to sell-out crowds, will miss out on international cricket this year; the ODIs against India was the only international cricket scheduled this season in East London and Bloemfontein. The window for the series also indicates that CSA cannot host a New Year’s Test – that means no India Test at Newlands, or possibly no traditional Boxing Day Test in Durban with a change of venues being an option.South Africa captain Graeme Smith said his team would be disappointed if the New Year’s Test indeed does not happen. “There is a natural disappointment but we don’t have enough information. We haven’t had any information given to us as a team about the fixtures,” Smith said on the eve of second Test against Pakistan, in the UAE. “As far as a New Year’s Test goes, its our marque event of the summer and as a team we were hopeful that would happen but we’ve just got to wait.”Lorgat has been suspended from two of the most important responsibilities in his job profile, but will continue to take care of all the domestic affairs at CSA as well as deal with other ICC members. CSA is yet to appoint a replacement to oversee the India tour in Lorgat’s absence.The South African Cricketers’ Association (SACA) also expressed its disappointment at the shortened series. “Everyone is now deprived of a meaningful series, especially in the Test format between the world’s top two cricket nations,” SACA’s chief executive, Tony Irish, said. “I don’t see how this can possibly be in the interests of either cricket in this country or of the global game. Cricket is the loser, plain and simple. In addition CSA will suffer massive financial losses which will affect players, cricket programmes and cricket development at all levels in our country.”The only positive to emerge today is the stated commitment of both CSA and the BCCI to continue with good faith discussions over the possibility of agreeing further scheduled fixtures between the two teams. At very least the players and the fans of both countries deserve that and should be entitled to hold the two boards to this commitment.”The announcement of the tour ends a story that has been playing out for several months and severely tested the relations between the BCCI and CSA, which have been on best terms since the end of apartheid in the early 1990s.The origin of the issue was the schedule for India’s tour of South Africa, which was announced by CSA on July 8. However, it immediately fell into problems because the schedule had not been endorsed by the BCCI. And though there was no official statement, the sticking point seemed to be CSA’s appointment of Lorgat as its chief executive despite a series of run-ins between Lorgat and the BCCI during his tenure as ICC chief.*06.50GMT, October 22: This article has been updated after the BCCI confirmed the South Africa series0:00

‘Lorgat situation leaves CSA on shaky ground’

Ben Laughlin, the Australia fast bowler, took six wickets to set up a comfortable win for Northern Districts over Wellington at Basin Reserve

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Nov-2013
ScorecardBen Laughlin, the Australia fast bowler, took six wickets to set up a comfortable win for Northern Districts over Wellington at Basin Reserve. Laughlin’s figures of 6 for 28 equalled the record in New Zealand domestic T20s, set by Ian Butler for Otago against Auckland in January 2010.Wellington were on firm footing at 103 for 3 in the 15th over after choosing to bat when Laughlin turned the game on its head. He struck thrice in that over, and thrice more in his next over, the 17th of the innings. A shocked Wellington, reduced to 116 for 9 by then, were bowled out for 128 in the final over.Tim Southee had claimed Michael Pollard off the fourth ball of the match but Wellington moved on quickly through contributions from Travis Birt (44) and Michael Papps (32). Both batsmen had departed when Laughlin set about Wellington.Stephen Murdoch was his first victim, after which he bowled James Franklin and Luke Woodcock in the same over. Jeetan Patel was the first to go in Laughlin’s next over. Henry Walsh was bowled three deliveries later, and Brent Arnel went caught behind next ball.Northern Districts lost captain Daniel Flynn cheaply, but Brad Wilson (24) and Daniel Harris steadied the chase. BJ Watling, who survived a missed run-out chance, then reeled off an unbeaten 46 off 32 as the target was achieved in the penultimate over.

There’s no Tendulkar, and several of this India batting line-up don’t have any experience in South Africa, making it a huge challenge against arguably the world’s best bowling

Sidharth Monga16-Dec-2013When Sachin Tendulkar was not a former India player, he always took the front left seat on the team bus. Nobody used to sit next to him. It was always Tendulkar and his thoughts. Two days before India go into a big test of their transition, Virat Kohli was in that seat on the team bus. It was perhaps symbolic that while Kohli might have sat in that row, he didn’t take the Tendulkar seat. He sat in the aisle. The window seat was vacant. It reminded you of the MS Dhoni joke before India left for here: that they will pick Nos 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12.Jokes aside, while Kohli is the perfect fit to take that No. 4 position, and the pressures of comparison that might come with it, this tour is a stern test for the Indian batting. Once again, they will find themselves with all to do. If the bowlers outbowl their South African counterparts, it will be a bonus. Two days before the Wanderers Test, hopefully used to the bounce here, they trained for three hours, in what is expected to be their batting order in the Test.Shikhar Dhawan knows he is not going to get too many balls to drive outside off. There will be a lot of short stuff into his body, and many short of a length outside off. Accordingly in the nets, he asked the bowlers to first bowl short of a length, on and around off. He left everything alone. Here was a man reacquainting himself with the off stump after a long stretch of playing either Tests in India or ODIs where you don’t pay too much for not knowing the whereabouts of the off stump. He just looked obsessed with leaving balls alone. Duncan Fletcher, for whom this is a big test too, looked on from behind. After the leaving was done, Dhawan asked for the bouncers. There will be quite a few of them in the Tests. And he hooked them all.M Vijay, his opening partner, went through a more normal routine in the nets, although he came back for a second round when all were done. He says it is not about special preparations for him. It is about how he is feeling, how he is hitting the ball. He will need to hit it really well here then: 459 of his 1108 Test runs have come in three innings against one team and in India. This is the first time he has travelled outside India knowing he is going to be the first-choice opener, by right and not because someone has rested. Vijay, though, doesn’t have ODI runs to fall back upon.Cheteshwar Pujara, along with Vijay the only India batsman to have played in South Africa, was his usual self, just loving to bat. South Africa will have noticed his tendency to hook a little compulsively. He has been out caught three times playing that shot in Tests, once in Durban on the previous trip. He likes playing the shot, manages to keep it down, but when it gets higher than the shoulder he sometimes fails to pull out of the shot. India will look to him for the solidity. When Rahul Dravid first came on a full trip to South Africa, Sachin Tendulkar told him he would have done well if he scored 250 runs. That won’t be a bad target for Pujara, although this is just a two-Test series.Kohli has been at the receiving end of some intense bowling from South Africa. They know he can run away with the game. They have tried to soften him up. There was a mini-controversy when reports suggested the Indian management objected to the clip of his getting injured being shown during a match week after the injury had occurred. It was denied by the team management. Ray Jennings, who has worked with Kohli, feels there might be a chink or two in his game when it comes to fast bowling but if he stays confident he can ride the tide.Kohli has looked reasonably confident on this tour. He has asserted neither he nor his team-mates are scared of fast bowling. Just that the ODIs have been too short a sample. Courage is often over-rated, the word perhaps should be temperament. South Africa will test Kohli’s. They will dry up his boundaries, and will ask him to play away from his body, which he does well in India. Here the ball will bounce and seam. Kohli will have to show – he has done so before – his temperament.Rohit Sharma should move to No. 5. He had a long session in the nets, including throwdowns that took much of the time. They first came from MS Dhoni who struggled to pitch the ball. However, Trevor Penney, the fielding coach, and CMK Dhananjay, the analyst, gave him a good workout. Not as stern a working over as Dale Steyn gave him in the ODIs. He is one of the few Indian batsmen who like to hang back, a bit like VVS Laxman. And like Lamxan needed to be, he will need to be wary of the full ball, lest he doesn’t cover the movement by staying back.Rohit will in all likelihood be followed by Mumbai team-mate Ajinkya Rahane, who will be in the most precarious position of all the batsmen. He will virtually be making Test debut in South Africa. He is not carrying the confidence of the runs the rest of the batsmen are carrying, regardless of the failure in the two ODIs. There will be nerves there. He has waited for a long time to get a proper place in the Test side, and it is coming in South Africa and against arguably the best attack in the world.The Indian batsmen know it’s not going to be easy, but they also know the pressure of expectations is not going to be as high as on the teams that were whitewashed in England and Australia on the last two overseas trips. They know that seat by the window in the front row on the left can be left vacant. Their captain doesn’t want replacements for the seats vacated. He wants men that will just do the job.