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Sri Lanka coach Graham Ford has said that his team got it wrong by inviting Pakistan to bat after winning the toss on the first day of the second Test at the SSC.”The score tells it very clearly that we got it wrong,” said Ford at the end of the day after Pakistan had amassed 334 for 1. “The thought behind it was that there are a lot of experienced men in our group and they know this surface pretty well. I don’t think any of them thought that pitch would play so well on the first day.”The decision wasn’t taken lightly and there were lot of discussions and I think just about all the wise heads and captains and ex-captains, involving the coaching staff and the team and everybody felt that it was worth having a crack with the ball. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out the way we were hoping.”There was something in the pitch in the first hour and with Pakistan not having started too well in the two innings in Galle, if we could strike early with the new ball, it would have got us in a pretty positive place and hopefully get them into a negative place. Unfortunately, it didn’t do anything here as everybody thought.”We have to give a lot of credit to the way they batted. They dug in and batted superbly.”Ford said that there were various strategies that they tried throughout the day – initially looking to attack and get wickets, before becoming more defensive when they found that the pitch was not offering much assistance.Ford said that batting well in the first innings was crucial for Sri Lanka. “Test match cricket goes over five days and we need to respond really well. We’ll have to come back and get into our work nicely tomorrow. On hindsight, the way the game is played certainly we’d have got in and had a bat. But unfortunately, that’s not the way cricket works and you’ve got to make decisions. I think lot of the thought behind the decisions, was solid and the research was done with the stats etc.”

Match facts

Saturday, June 16, West End
Start time 1045 (0945 GMT)Captains Alastair Cook and Darren Sammy pose with the trophy ahead of England and West Indies’ ODI series•PA Photos

Big Picture

The one-day leg of West Indies’ tour was widely expected to be the point when the tourists become truly competitive against England. For many they are the favourites, such is the firepower they can now call upon. With the IPL complete and disputes between players and the WICB at a cease-fire, Saturday’s XI could feature seven changes from the side that played the first Test at Lord’s.It is essential West Indies take something away from this tour; so far their only plus points are the return to form of Marlon Samuels, Tino Best’s Edgbaston rampage and Denesh Ramdin’s ability to bat with a note in his pocket. They held Australia to a 2-2 draw in the Caribbean and now need to take ‘progress’, ‘positives’ and the excuse of being a developing side and turn them into an ODI series win – something they haven’t achieved against anyone other than Zimbabwe or Bangladesh (by whom they were whitewashed in 2009) since beating Sri Lanka in April 2008.They may have caught England at a good time. Kevin Pietersen’s retirement not only removes a destructive, in-form player from their line-up but returns England to experiment mode – Ian Bell, should he be passed fit, is set to open the batting and needs to forge a partnership with Alastair Cook. Without Pietersen, England look a touch lightweight; their big guns lie in the bowling department and they are tasked with picking off West Indies’ beefier batting line-up.

Form guide (most recent first)

England: WWWWL
West Indies: LWTWL

Players to watch

He’s back: Chris Gayle, whom Ottis Gibson has described as the best one-day batsman in the world. Few would disagree with West Indies’ coach. Blessed with an outrageous hitting ability but transferring from the flat tracks of the IPL to the seaming conditions of England is a challenge that will take more than hand-eye co-ordination to overcome.The spotlight in the England team turns to the recalled Ian Bell – offered another chance in ODIs and given the backing of England team director Andy Flower that he is part of the plan for the 2015 World Cup, there is great pressure on Bell to maintain the structure England have put in place for their one-day XI. His failure could spark another major rethink – though after a knock on the chin in practice, England could yet be forced to rejig anyway.

Team news

West Indies’ side will bear little resemblance to that which began the Test series. They are stronger for it, with Lendl Simmons and Chris Gayle returning to open the batting and Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard back in the middle order. England may decide to leave out one of their few big-hitters, Jonny Bairstow, in order to field a four-man pace attack, with Tim Bresnan occupying the allrounder’s role.West Indies (possible) 1 Lendl Simmons, 2 Chris Gayle, 3 Darren Bravo, 4 Marlon Samuels, 5 Kieron Pollard, 6 Dwayne Bravo/Dwayne Smith, 7 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 8 Andre Russell, 9 Darren Sammy (capt), 10 Ravi Rampaul, 11 Sunil NarineEngland (possible) 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Ian Bell, 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Ravi Bopara, 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Craig Kieswetter (wk), 7 Tim Bresnan, 8 Stuart Broad, 9 Graeme Swann, 10 James Anderson, 11 Steve Finn

Pitch and conditions

The forecast isn’t brilliant so expect ODI conditions only found in England, with the new ball offering plenty and the totals limited by the bowler-friendly environment. That considered, James Taylor had no trouble in smashing an unbeaten century for Nottinghamshire against Hampshire on the same ground in murky conditions last month. His final 90 runs came off just 32 balls.

Stats and trivia

• Before the match, the two main stands at West End will be renamed – one after Shane Warne, Hampshire captain from 2005 to 2007, and the other after the late Colin Ingleby-Mackenzie, who captained Hampshire to the 1961 County Championship.
• Ian Bell averages 42.88 in ODIs in England, compared to 28.64 abroad.
• Chris Gayle has played 51 Twenty20 matches for four different teams since he last played for West Indies.

Quotes

“If you hit it just over the boundary or just over the stands it is still six. Maybe if they were counting runs differently for the amount of rows back, then Chris Gayle would definitely win that contest.”
“I don’t think he is special. The kid has hardly played a lot of first-class cricket. He’s young and inexperienced. Spinners usually need a few years to mature and bowl well. In the IPL batsman had no time to look at him and Indian pitches always slow-turn so everything was in his favour there.”

ScorecardJack Brooks took three wickets as the tourists struggled to cope with the moving ball•Getty Images

Given the start West Indies have had to their tour things could be said to be looking up. The full squad is finally available after Narsingh Deonarine arrived in the country and they managed the majority of a day’s play for the first time. However, in reality, that time on the field did not allay any of the concerns about their batting heading into the Test series as they stumbled to 147 all out – albeit in tricky conditions.Yet they are the sort of the conditions very likely to greet them at Lord’s next week and their audition against the Lions attack was from convincing. Only Darren Bravo, with a determined and increasingly fluent 51, offered significant resistance after the top order was blown away and the tail folded without much fight. From England’s point of view it was another display of the fine bowling resources on offer to them – Stuart Meaker was the best on show – but somehow the visitors need to find a way of putting 300 on the board. If they can do that their bowling attack is good enough to keep the contests even.Given all the recent poor weather, the fact that play was only delayed by an hour was unexpected but it was no surprise that James Taylor, the Lions captain, inserted the visitors and neither that they struggled to combat the moving ball, although in mitigation it was their first extended period in the middle. An inexperienced top order was always going to be up against it, as they will be during the Test series.Last week at Hove, where there were only 34 overs in three days, the West Indian top three did not flourish and it is a major weakness. On this occasion they were back in the pavilion with 16 on the board and when Shivnarine Chanderpaul departed cheaply even three figures appeared distant.But they cannot be relying on Chanderpaul all the time and Bravo gave the English audience their first glimpse of his ability with an increasingly positive display, especially considering the conditions. He battled at the start of his stay, reaching 6 off 44 deliveries before three boundaries in four balls kick-started his innings shortly before lunch. He continued to drive well after the break, reaching fifty from 86 balls, before top-edging a pull off Meaker, who bowled with impressive pace and troubled the batsmen throughout.Bravo had added 75 with Marlon Samuels, who was reacquainting himself with first-class cricket following a spell in the IPL, but two overs later Meaker added a further dent to the recovery when Samuels played slightly away from his body, although it was another good delivery. Meaker, who has taken 11 wickets in two Championship matches this season, soon added Shane Shillingford to his tally as the tall offspinner lost his off stump and gave Meaker three wickets in 15 balls.The earlier success had gone to the hometown boy. Jack Brooks, wearing his trademark head band (although in England red and white rather than Northamptonshire maroon), had to bowl into the wind and produced a strong opening spell. Adrian Barath, who had twice edged over and through the cordon, was the first to fall when he fended off the back foot to third slip. Brooks’ second came courtesy of a fine diving catch by Ian Bell at second slip to remove Kirk Edwards, who is captaining the tourists here after it was decided to rest Darren Sammy.Between Brooks’ successes Jade Dernbach also made his mark when he found the edge of Kieran Powell to give Jonny Bairstow a catch. Both Dernbach and Brooks were replaced after exacting six-over spells but the pressure was maintained by Meaker and Matt Coles. The former was particularly impressive, bowling with hostile pace and getting the ball to jag back at both Bravo and Chanderpaul.However, it was Coles who bagged the key wicket of Chanderpaul although not with one of the many good deliveries. Instead, Chanderpaul tried to bail out of a half-hearted pull stroke and lobbed a catch to mid-on. It was a notable first Lions scalp for Coles but rare for Chanderpaul to offer such a gift.Coles claimed his second when Denesh Ramdin drove to gully playing a loose drive without footwork when conditions demanded more circumspection and the equal share of the success continued with Brooks and Dernbach cleaning up the innings.The signs were not promising for a West Indian fightback when Fidel Edwards began the Lions reply in horrid fashion with three consecutive no-balls, the last of which took Michael Carberry’s inside edge into the stumps. Eventually, though, Edwards put his foot behind the line and trapped Joe Root lbw with one that scooted through low.Carberry opened his scoring with a pulled six off Ravi Rampaul but lived a charmed life, edging short of third slip off Edwards and being dropped in the gully on 9, off Kemar Roach. Nick Compton looked more assured as the West Indian bowlers struggled to locate a consistently full length. They have not got long to find their range.

Which captain in world cricket would not want to be Graeme Smith? The South Africa captain seems to have it all – a team that has performed to match its reputation of being cricket’s best travelling bunch, a clutch of experienced players who come to the party more often than not, youth that sprouts up at every corner and most of all, a bowling attack that is unquestionably dynamic, explosive and effective.”He’s said that he is probably more happy with this attack than he ever has been,” Russell Domingo, South Africa’s assistant coach, said of Smith. “He’s got all facets covered. He’s got Vernon [Philander] who is skilfull and controlled, he’s got Dale [Steyn] who is aggressive, he’s got Morne [Morne] who brings a different dimension, he’s got a lesgpinner [Imran Tahir], he’s got the experience of [Jacques] Kallis.”Having all those things would not matter much if Smith did not know how to use them. So far, his management of the attack has been exceptional as he has alternated their roles as aggressors and containers shrewdly. “A captain is generally going to be as good as the players are, or as good as your bowlers are. At the moment Graeme’s got a really good bowling attack to work with,” Domingo said.”He can set fields according to plans because they are skilled enough to execute those plans. Maybe when the bowlers aren’t that skillful or mature or experienced, it’s not that easy to stick to a plan.” Smith has had the luxury of, for example, being able to put a man at deep square leg to wait for a Brendon McCullum pull and being able to instruct his bowlers to bang it in short to him.The other most distinct individual attack Smith has led was the one with the new ball-pairing of Shaun Pollock and Makhaya Ntini through the mid 2000s. The pair was also a good mixture of accuracy and attack but did not have a key third element that Smith’s seamers today have – a spinner who does more than hold up an end. “As a unit, this is probably one of the top bowling units that South Africa has produced in a while because there is no bowler that you can target because everybody is at you all the time. Everybody knows what is expected and has got the skills to execute it,” Domingo said.While Tahir has not had the success he has been craving, there is an unsung heroism about his presence in the side. South Africa simply they have another wicket-taking option. Their belief in Tahir has resulted in him being willing to change certain aspects of his game and learn to play a more defensive role if needed. “Ultimately he’s doing his job,” Smith said, after the Hamilton win. “I’m hoping that when we get on that real turner he’ll come to the party then and pick up some crucial wickets. But for the moment I think he’s doing a good job and we all still have a lot of faith in him and we’re comfortable with where we sit with him.”Wickets have mostly fallen in the direction of Vernon Philander, which has left the rest of the attack with very little to fight over. Philander’s extraordinary success – 45 wickets in six Tests at an average of 13.6 – has been a key part of South Africa’s overall ascendency. Domingo said although Philander’s numbers have belied belief at times, they are not all that unexpected. “He has been an outstanding bowler in domestic cricket for three years so it’s no surprise that he has done so well,” Domingo said. “He’s got an unbelievable amount of skill, really good control, can bowl a good bouncer, is up mid 130s and a lot of self confidence which is a great recipe for fast bowler. He has got controlled aggression which is great.”New Zealand’s batting line-up has also made the South African attack’s job easier. With only five specialist batsmen and a heavy reliance on at least two of them, McCullum and Ross Taylor, batting has emerged as New Zealand’s weaker suit. “We do think that if we make early inroads we can put their lower order under pressure with the pace,” Domingo said. “We see it as a perceived weakness that we can exploit. There’s a lot of pressure on three or four of their batters to put in big performances and it is an area we can exploit.”

Match facts

Wednesday, April 4, Chennai
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)Harbhajan Singh, the Mumbai Indians captain, could use the IPL as an opportunity to make a comeback•Mumbai Indians

Big picture

A year ago, the hangover of the World Cup had barely ended before another exhausting tournament started. Fans dehydrated by the emotions of India’s World Cup victory were now expected to show up in those numbers for the IPL. The fans and players had one thing in common – both were knackered. The scenario this year is not entirely different. India’s horrific season must have drained them mentally. Their followers are tired of defeat. The next two months will reveal the fans’ true faith in their own players.Indian cricket has come a full circle in a year, and the man at the epicentre is MS Dhoni, who’s back to leading Chennai Super Kings tomorrow in the IPL opener against Mumbai Indians. Public memory is short, and all it could take is a few victories for his fans to restore their faith. The reshuffling of squads last year didn’t affect the defending champions Super Kings. They thrived on a power-packed batting line-up, backed by a competent spin attack. They spent their auction purse in getting hold of a spinning-allrounder in Ravindra Jadeja. Dhoni, unfortunately, found himself shouldering too much burden as India captain, which affected his performances. If Super Kings are to succeed again, this squad, with varying degrees of experience, need to rally around him.His Mumbai counterpart, Harbhajan Singh, was largely disconnected from India’s plunge because he was dealing with a slump of his own. Poor form and injury kept him on the sidelines, but he regained pride by leading Mumbai to the Champions League title last year. He finds himself in the same role this year, after Sachin Tendulkar decided to step down as captain. Mumbai may be missing Andrew Symonds, but the squad’s intimidating enough without him. It’s fitting that the defending champions are taking on the team to beat in the opener.Mumbai are lucky to have their entire international contingent available for the season. Super Kings have a couple of injury concerns, but the core of their squad – barring Michael Hussey who is to join at the end of the month – is available.

Players to watch

Since his 95 in the IPL final last year (and 434 for the tournament), M Vijay has had a quiet 11 months. He underperformed in the West Indies and found himself out of contention. He had his moments of success during the domestic season, but this IPL will again be crucial towards making a return to the national side, at least when it comes to auditioning for the World Twenty20. Another chance beckons for the opening batsman.Harbhajan Singh is another player who could use this tournament as an opportunity to make a comeback. The criticism was that he had become a defensive bowler, bowling flatter lengths which weren’t fetching him enough wickets. His domestic season wasn’t good enough to force a return either. R Ashwin’s mixed returns in Australia should improve Harbhajan’s chances. But Harbhajan will know that he will be up against the likes of Pragyan Ojha and Rahul Sharma, at least in the limited-overs formats. He needs wickets, and plenty of them.

2011 head-to-head

Mumbai and Super Kings played each other just once last year. Rohit Sharma’s 87 off 48 balls took Mumbai to 164. Super Kings were well-placed at 98 for 2 in the 12th over, but Harbhajan inflicted a collapse, taking five wickets to give Mumbai an eight-run win. S Badrinath was the last-man standing with 71.

Stats and trivia

ScorecardSaqlain Sajib gave Rajshahi the opening they were looking for•BPL T20

The crowd in Chittagong were treated to two tense games, but had to go home disappointed as their home team, Chittagong Kings, fell short by nine runs in a low-scoring thriller against Duronto Rajshahi. Chittagong Kings got off to a good start chasing 127, but Rajshahi scripted a remarkable turnaround, thanks to the left-arm spinner Saqlain Sajib, who took 3 for 22.On a pitch taking turn, the Chittagong openers added 40 before Jahurul Islam was run-out. It was the opening which transformed Rajshahi’s fortunes as Sajib took two in two balls. Jason Roy was bowled, before Ziaur Rahman was out edging to Junaid Siddique at slip. He added Nasir Jamshed to his tally and suddenly, Chittagong were feeling the heat.The captain Mahmudullah and Shamsur Rahman led a recovery stand of 34, helped along the way by some ordinary fielding. At 89 for 4, just when the chase had a semblance of control, Mahmudullah fell for 18. There was no looking back from there on as Mohammad Sami struck twice to give Rajshahi the edge. He removed Shamsur top edging a short ball, but was a bit lucky to get Dwayne Bravo lbw, as replays indicated the ball may have missed the leg stump.Farhad Reza was running out of partners and it didn’t help that the required run rate kept climbing. Chittagong failed to find the boundaries and in the end couldn’t get themselves to within a massive hit over the rope to finish things off.Earlier, Chittagong’s Arafat Sunny also found good purchase from the pitch, taking a miserly 3 for 13 off his four overs. The left-arm spinner dismissed the overseas trio of Khalid Latif, Marlon Samuels and Abdul Razzaq. After a scratchy start, Rajshahi were led by their captain Mushfiqur Rahim who scored a workmanlike 24 off 25 balls without any boundaries. In the end, the modest 126 turned out to be a match-winning total.

The BCCI has said it was “unfortunate” that Sahara India Parivar had chosen to withdraw their ownership of the Pune Warriors IPL franchise, as well as their sponsorship of the Indian team. However, Rajeev Shukla, the IPL chairman, and one of the BCCI vice-presidents, said that the board needed a formal intimation in writing from Sahara before they could decide on a future course of action.The Sahara decision, which was made public through a media release, caught everyone, including the BCCI unawares. The announcement of their decision came an hour before the IPL player auction was set to commence in Bangalore.”It is unfortunate,” Shukla said at the end of the bidding for the marquee players. “[But] unless we get something in writing then only we will be reacting. If they want it [their contract] terminated, they want to withdraw [from the IPL], then we will decide [once we get official confirmation],” Shukla said.Officials from the Warriors were not present at the auction either, but Sundar Raman, the IPL chief executive, made it clear that they had the right to stay away. “There is no action that is required to be taken because it is not mandatory for them to sit in the auction,” Raman said. “Pune Warriors are there or not there is not communicated to us still. As the situation arises we would respond to it.In a statement released to the press earlier today, Sushanto Roy, the managing director of Sahara Adventure Sports Limited, said that “it was an emotional decision for us to start this sponsorship but our emotions were never appreciated and many genuine situations, were not given due consideration at all.”Roy listed a slew of instances in which he felt Sahara’s requests were not entertained by the BCCI, most of which concerned the IPL. Among them was their disqualification from bidding for a franchise in 2008 and their attempts to reduce the franchise fee when the number of matches was cut down from 94 to 74 for the 2011 IPL. Their most recent concern was over the availability of Yuvraj Singh, the Pune captain, who is undergoing treatment for a non-malignant tumour in his lungs and will not be able to participate in the fifth season,According to the BCCI, Sahara wanted the amount of Yuvraj’s contact added to their auction purse, giving them US$3.4 million in total, but the IPL was not prepared to do that. “The rules are very clear and are consistent with previous seasons: Sahara Adventure Sports Limited may take a replacement following the 2012 Auction,” the BCCI said in a statement of its own. “Additionally, the trading window will re-open on February 6 and Sahara Adventure Sports Limited will then have a further opportunity to take new players.”Raman said it would be inappropriate on the IPL’s part to respond without getting anything in writing from Sahara. “The fact they chose not participate in the auction and having sent a press release is indeed unfortunate. Because as a federation they should have informed us of their concerns which if they wanted to discontinue their association officially in writing, which has not happened.”According to Raman, Sahara could terminate the contract only after “invoking” the relevant clause stated in the franchise agreement. “The contract terms is very clear as far as the franchise agreement is concerned and they need to invoke under the termination clause is as per the contract. We will be able to respond only then. Today we are reacting to something that has been issued as a press release, which is something, as the chairman said without getting any official intimation.”However, Raman did not shy away from taking a shot at Sahara, who he said were trying to bend the rules to suit their needs. “The truth is also they had requested flexibility and amendments to the regulations which suited them, and which was, in the opinion of the IPL, unfair to the eight other franchises,” Raman said. “The IPL was not prepared to grant an exception to one franchise to be sitting in the auction room with a much higher purse than every other franchise as that defeats the purpose of the regulation.”When asked if the BCCI might have been a little flexible with Sahara given that they have enjoyed a long-standing relationship for more than decade, Raman said that such a move would have been to the detriment of the other eight franchises. “We live with the franchises on a day-to-day basis. We have to be fair to everyone. You look around and ask the other franchises if that would’ve been fair for them [Warriors] to be allowed to add the additional auction purse and see the response.”Officials from Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings said they had no comment as the regulator [of the IPL] was the right entity to deal with the matter.

Phillip Hughes will spend the entire 2012 season at Worcestershire after extending his contract with the county. Hughes, the 23-year-old Australia opener who was dropped from the Test team after a disappointing series against New Zealand, had originally agreed to join Worcestershire in June but has now agreed to arrive in the UK at the start of April.The attractions of the relationship are obvious to both parties. Hughes, whose technique has been exposed somewhat at international level, will have plenty of opportunity to learn to deal with the moving ball in English conditions, while Worcestershire’s brittle batting will be boosted by the addition of a player good enough to have scored two centuries in a Test against a formidable South African attack. Hughes’ presence at New Road for the entire season will also alleviate the disruption sometimes caused by the short-term nature of many modern overseas player contracts.”We are delighted to have available a player of Phil’s stature for the whole 2012 season,” said Worcestershire’s director of cricket, Steve Rhodes. “This was our original plan when we first set out in search of Phil’s signature and it will give the dressing room a real boost. Having spoken to Phil he views playing a full English season as a fantastic opportunity to score plenty of runs and in turn, it is hoped this will bring success to the team. We are looking forward to him joining up with the squad at the start of April for what will be an exciting 2012 season.”Hughes also expressed his delight. “I’m thrilled to have been able to agree terms with Worcestershire to extend my 2012 contract to the full county season,” he said. “I haven’t played a full season of domestic cricket for more than two years and I can’t wait to get to England and meet my new team-mates. I’ve heard so many positive things about their structure, environment and wicket which are all really favourable for what I want to achieve in the coming 12 months.”Meanwhile Gareth Andrew will miss the start of the season after undergoing knee surgery. Andrew, the 28-year-old all-rounder, who finished the 2011 season second in county cricket’s Most Valuable Player ratings, underwent micro-fracture treatment in early December. Worcestershire do not expect him to be match fit until late May.

Be they bowlers or batsmen, Australia’s cricketers must become mature enough to accept that changes to the team for reasons of balance or rotation will become more frequent under the new team performance regime, the head coach Mickey Arthur has said.As the national selectors, Arthur among them, deliberate over whether to bolster Michael Clarke’s bowling resources with the allrounder Daniel Christian for the Hobart Test against New Zealand, the possibility of wider and more frequent rotation is dawning on the team.The senior batsman Michael Hussey has expressed reservations about shuffling batsmen in and out for fear that it would flirt with form and confidence, but Arthur said all players had to be prepared to accept the possibility, irrespective of their role. His words echoed those of the Argus review about “adult conversations” surrounding selection.”That’s a maturity that we want to try to get into the group getting down the line,” Arthur told ESPNcricinfo. “Players need to be mature enough to realise that it is a balance shift or something like that, and we’ll communicate that all very well to the guys and they’ll understand exactly where they’re at.”Christian remains a chance to become Australia’s 427th Test cricketer, pending assessments of how the bowling quartet has backed up from a comprehensive defeat of New Zealand in the first Test in Brisbane. Also a factor in discussions is the tendency of the Hobart pitch to flatten out into a strip less reminiscent of the Gabba than Allan Border Field, where the visitors batted far more comfortably against Australia A.”You always want that extra bowling option, an allrounder in the team is like gold,” Arthur said. “So with Shane [Watson] not playing there is a position there for an allrounder within our squad and the selectors have felt that he’s the next best.”We’ll just have to see when we get down to Hobart how all the different permutations work out. We need to keep rotating guys through the summer because there is just so much cricket, guys are going to break down and we need others ready to come in at any given time.”Phillip Hughes’ present troubles are less physical than technical, and Arthur stressed a balance needed to be struck between advising the 23-year-old on how to straighten his bat and granting him the freedom to indulge the appetite for runs that has already reaped 17 first-class centuries.”I think we need to see him tighten up his technique just a little bit, because he’s getting out in the same ways and that’s, not the alarming thing, but that’s an area of concern that he keeps getting out in exactly the same way,” Arthur said.”But he is an incredibly talented player with a very big future, so we just want to tighten up his technique but give him the wings to fly with the bat, because he’s still got a major role to play down the line for Australian cricket.”In planning ahead for the series against India, Arthur is aware that the problems posed for Hughes by Chris Martin are most liley going to be magnified through the lens of Ishant Sharma, who delivers with a similar trajectory and a knack for shaping the ball across left-handers.”One hundred per cent [we’re aware of Ishant coming up],” Arthur said. “Chris Martin has troubled a lot of left-handers because of his angle, and he is going to continue to do that, but it’s not going away, that is always going to be a challenge for the left-handed batters, and Hughesy in particular, so that is something we’ve got to make sure we get right.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsVirat Kohli and Rohit Sharma ensured India’s chase did not fail•Associated Press

Lendl Simmons withstood like the boy on the burning deck, while Ravi Rampaul shot from the hip like the last man standing. Their half-centuries were stirring for they created them from ruins, but neither led West Indies to victory. Instead, Virat Kohli’s methodical century, which enhanced his growing stature as an expert of the chase, and Rohit Sharma’s efficient finishing act, prevailed and led India to a 2-0 lead on a drizzly day in Visakhapatnam.India’s bowlers had a critical role in the victory as well, before they were rendered bereft of ideas by Rampaul’s record-breaking assault at No. 10. Umesh Yadav and Vinay Kumar, the new-ball operators, exploited rare seam-bowling conditions on the subcontinent and cut through the West Indian top order. Under cloudy skies, on a cracked pitch that had bounce, they used consistent outswing to help reduce West Indies to 149 for 8 despite defiance from Simmons. The end should have quickly followed, but it didn’t, because Rampaul blitzed 86 off 66 balls and added 99 for the tenth wicket to lead West Indies to 269 for 9.The chase was not hiccup-free either. India suffered two early wickets and the loss of an off-colour Sehwag – whose 26 lacked enough strike and momentum – to slip to 84 for 3 in the 17th over. Sehwag could have fallen on 1 and 15 but was dropped by Darren Sammy and Darren Bravo, who is as poor a fielder as he is promising a batsman.The moments that cost West Indies most, however, were the let-offs Kohli had. On 24, Kohli swiveled and tried to pull Andre Russell, a shot he would execute with success later during his eighth century. This time Denesh Ramdin failed to catch the ball and the umpire did not signal leg-byes. On 40, Kohli drove the ball hard back at the bowler Marlon Samuels, who couldn’t hold on as he dived to his right. Kohli gave West Indies no more chances.Rohit had a painful start to his innings. His third ball was a short one from Rampaul and it thudded into the glove of his bottom hand. Three balls later Rohit retorted with a audacious pull off the front foot that sent the ball into the crowd beyond the midwicket boundary. It was the start of a 163-run partnership that decided the game.Though the challenge was sizeable, Kohli and Rohit ensured the asking-rate, which hit a run a ball for the first time after 23 overs, was always under control. Sammy, unlike his counterpart Sehwag who often had six fielders in the circle when India were bowling, spread his field and the batsmen were able to whittle down the target without risking their wickets.There were a few more tense moments as the contest entered its home stretch. After closing the gap between runs required and balls left with five boundaries in ten balls – Kohli 3, Rohit 2 – Kohli was dismissed for 117. Raina was caught behind hooking a short ball soon after, and India needed 22 off 24 balls. Rohit, however, did the job he didn’t do in Cuttack. He stayed the course, striking a six over long-off to reach 90 and then watching from the other end as the game was won.A few hours earlier, the match didn’t look like it would go into its 99th over. The floodlights were on as play began after a delayed start in front of a strong crowd and Yadav didn’t take long to give them reason to roar. In the second over, he produced a late outswinger that grazed Adrian Barath’s outside edge en route to the wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel.A feature of Yadav’s bowling was how upright the seam was before the ball hit the pitch and seamed away. Sehwag had a third slip because of all the movement, and when Samuels edged Yadav, Raina dived to his right and took a low catch. West Indies were 25 for 2.Simmons went on the attack, stylishly whipping Yadav to the square-leg boundary, and walking out of his crease to drive Vinay on the up through extra cover to bring up 1000 career runs. At the other end, there was false promise from Bravo, who flicked and straight drove Varun Aaron for fours before lofting Vinay to the fielder at mid-on. Two balls later, Danza Hyatt was walking back for nought.Only after Ramdin – Yadav’s third wicket – departed with his team reeling at 63 for 5, did things begin to look up for West Indies. Simmons reached his half-century and Pollard brought up the 50 partnership by launching the offspinner R Ashwin over the straight boundary. He followed that with another six over wide long-on next ball. Another slump was around the corner, though.Pollard, Sammy and Russell fell in quick time and it was then that Rampaul made his entrance. He swept Ashwin for four and clubbed him over long-on, before targeting Jadeja and scoring two more fours. Between those braces of shots, Simmons had been run out for 78.The boundaries were small but Rampaul would have cleared larger ones today. He brought up his half-century off 35 balls and hit half a dozen sixes and as many fours, most of them swung with power on the leg side. There was an inevitability about how the innings ended, with Rampaul slamming Aaron over the straight boundary. He walked off the field with a composed look on his face, knowing the job was only half done. He wouldn’t be able to complete it, though.