Swann confident of Ashes return

Only two weeks after undergoing surgery for the second time on his troublesome right elbow, Graeme Swann is not only confident of being fit for his third Ashes series later this summer but has also revealed a vague ambition to rival a fellow England offspinner, John Emburey, for career longevity.

Indeed, Swann, who turned 34 four days ago, is so optimistic about making a full recovery that he believes he could be ready to play in the opening Test against New Zealand on May 16. Nottinghamshire's four-day match against Durham on April 29 has even been pencilled in for what would be a startlingly quick competitive comeback.

Swann went ahead of Jim Laker as England's most prolific Test offspinner during the triumphant England series in India that preceded the New Zealand tour. He now has 212 Test wickets yet claims his hunger for more is undiminished.

"The hunger's still strong to play Test cricket," he said "I love the game, so I think I'll play for as long as the body can stand it. Whether that will be for 12 Test matches or 112 we will have to wait and see - but Embers played until he was 41, didn't he? So there is hope for me yet."

Swann is currently following a day-and-night programme of mechanically-induced extension exercises designed to accelerate his recovery time.

"I'm banished to our attic bedroom right now because I have to get up every two hours to attach myself to a machine for 50 minutes," Swann said. "It was agony for the first week - it brings a tear to your eye. But that's stopped happening now and the elbow feels great -- so it's definitely going in the right direction.

"I'll be badgering the physios and coaches here at Notts to let me bowl as soon as possible but they're the ones with qualifications to tell me when and where I can.

"I'd hope to be bowling competitively by the end of April. I don't know whether that's optimistic or not but that's how my mind works. I want to be back as soon as I can because I'm bored stupid already. It was okay while the Tests in New Zealand were on because I could watch that, but now it's finished it's very tedious.

"It's important though because the machine keeps the range of movement in your arm and it aids your rehabilitation and it's supposed to halve the time you get back bowling."

If his return to action with Nottinghamshire results in no setback, Swann would be in contention for the opening Test against New Zealand at Lord's, having missed England's uncomfortable 0-0 Test series draw against the same opponents on their own pitches.

It would be great news for England, who would be uneasy about entering as Ashes series with Monty Panesar as their frontline spinner, particularly given the high number of left-handed batsmen in the Australian line-up. Panesar was in buoyant form as he and Swann dismantled India on turning surfaces before Christmas, but as the lone spinner on unresponsive surfaces in New Zealand he occasionally looked ill at ease.

Doubts were expressed over Swann's future in international cricket after his elbow injury resurfaced - slightly more than three years after his first operation under the skilled hands of surgeon Dr Shawn O'Driscoll in Minnesota.

Yet he says he trusts O'Driscoll's prognosis of a full recovery and the thought has never seriously crossed his mind that the injury might spell the end of his England career after 50 Tests.

"The surgeon assured me it was a straightforward operation compared with my first one," he said. "That one was far more serious, yet it allowed me to go for three-and-a-half years bowling relatively pain free. It was a lot more straightforward this time, basically just correcting little things that have gone wrong since.

"Because of my elbow, different parts of my body start taking over and aching and that was one of the signs in New Zealand that something was wrong. All of a sudden I was getting a sore back and shoulder and all sorts of things, all down to the fact that the elbow wasn't working. Now it's cleared out, all the other things should be all right.

"I think I could bowl now but I'd probably put myself back to square one. So the next couple of weeks are solely about fitness and getting my base levels back up to where they should be, and then I'll start bowling again."

Swann recognises that he is not the patient sort and any delay in his rehabilitation will leave him pacing the floor in frustration.

"I think it's going to kill me if I sit down and watch so much cricket at the start of the summer without being an active part of it so I'll certainly be trying to be back fit and playing as much cricket as I can. I'd like to get a couple of games in for Notts before any England cricket starts so that's what I'll be aiming for.

"If I start back and there's any pain whatsoever I'm sure I'll want to play it fairly safe. But I'm not a conservative bloke by nature."

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Mathews puts the blame on bowlers

Angelo Mathews refused to put Sri Lanka's first-ever loss to Bangladesh on home soil down to conditions, and blamed his side's bowling instead. Bangladesh got off to a rapid start in their response to Sri Lanka's 302, before rain forced an almost three-hour delay in play.

Sri Lanka contended with a wet ball for the remainder of the curtailed match, but Mathews said his side's bowling had been a concern throughout the series, and they should have walked away with a series win. Only Sachithra Senanayake and Lasith Malinga maintained an economy rate of less than six runs an over, as Bangladesh chased 183 in 26 overs to win by three wickets under the Duckworth-Lewis method.

"I don't think we can blame the conditions. We didn't bowl well and that's why we lost. It was very disappointing. I feel we had the runs on the board, but we just didn't bowl well. Our bowling was the turning point. We didn't execute our plans and we were wayward from the start.

"Duckworth Lewis is always complicated. We had our chances still, because they had to get 102 off 13 overs and the bowling attack that we've got is brilliant. Unfortunately, we just couldn't pull it off."


Sri Lanka had begun the match promisingly, with Kusal Perera and Tillakaratne Dilshan providing their second brisk 100-run partnership in the series. Dilshan hit 125 from 128 balls, and had support from Kumar Sangakkara as well, who made a busy 48. Sri Lanka lost their way from 203 for 1 in the 36th over, when the middle order collapsed, but Mathews said the batting had not worried him.

"Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kusal Janith gave us the ideal start. The midde-order batsmen we were a little too hasty. But still, I think 302 in a 50-over game is a lot of runs. The batting was good, but we again showed a weakness with the ball. Our batting has been good throughout this tour. I think both in the first ODI and in the third ODI, we have not bowled well at all." 


Bangladesh had the advantage of playing out all ten of their mandatory Powerplay overs despite the shortened chase, but Mathews said a curtailed match did not necessarily swing the game in Bangladesh's favour.

"It would have been different if they were chasing 303 and we were playing a 50-over game, but the credit should also go to the Bangladeshis for the way they played. They batted extremely well. It could have gone both ways. Maybe with the pressure of a 50-over match, it could have gone our way, but we could still have won the 27-over match. We didn't play well and we accept that."

Bangladesh required more than seven runs an over for much of their chase, and they kept in touch with the asking rate with regular boundaries, before closing in on the target quickly with a final flourish. Sri Lanka fielded well, despite the wet ball and slippery surface, but it was the bowling where they were not poised, Mathews said. 


"It was a nervous game because it went down to the wire and the pressure was on. They were feeling it and we were also feeling it. We were a little a little bit rattled with the ball. Those 13 overs were played under high pressure, and Bangladesh outplayed us there, when we were troubled a little bit. 


"Ultimately they held it to pull it off and get across the line. They've played some really good cricket and we were outplayed today."

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'I would still call it a calculative chase' - Mushfiqur

Bangladesh's captain Mushfiqur Rahim called his side's hustling victory against Sri Lanka a "calculative chase". It did not seem so deliberate. They won by three wickets to level the ODI series 1-1, but only after many moments of panic in the dressing room and out in the middle.

Following a rain break of more than two hours, the equation for Bangladesh was to score another 105 runs in 13.2 overs from a position of 78 for 1 in 13.4 overs. They lost six wickets in the process and some of the batsmen looked too eager to finish off the game. But the staying power of Nasir Hossain, amid the tension, gave them the edge.

"We wanted to play cricketing shots to get a 30-40 run partnership up early," Mushfiqur said. "We are not used to playing in such tight circumstances against such tough opponents, so I think some of us panicked. I would still call it a calculative chase because we took risks and lost some wickets, but in the end we had one guy holding things together."

The underlying theme of this series has been how poor Bangladesh's resources has been. They lost several players to injuries, but the biggest were those to Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal and Mashrafe Mortaza. These are senior players in a very young team that does not win often and yet carries the swelling expectations of a cricket-mad nation.

To beat Sri Lanka in their backyard has given Mushfiqur the pride to tell his players that all is not automatically lost when the stars are absent. "If Shakib was here, he could have won the man-of-the-series award probably, because he has done it quite a number of times in the past," Mushfiqur said. "But some of the others have stepped up this time. The team will now believe that without big stars, Bangladesh can still do well."

The captain also showed appreciation for Nasir who has progressed into a batsman keen to finish games off during tight chases. "Hats off to Nasir," Mushfiqur said. "I firmly believe that he can break all batting records in the Bangladesh team if he continues in this vein. He has played really well. He does well when the team needs him to score. It is his most important trait."

With such a long gap between what effectively was two parts to the game, it was easy to forget Abdur Razzak's earlier achievement, and the unassuming manner in which he led the attack. The left-arm spinner finished with his fourth five-wicket haul in ODIs, which held back Sri Lanka's surge towards an even bigger score. More significantly for Razzak, his fifth wicket on the day was also his 200th in ODIs for Bangladesh.

Mushfiqur was full of praise. "I congratulate Razzak bhai for becoming the first bowler from Bangladesh to take 200 wickets. He is a tough guy, and he can bowl at the top and at the end so well. Sometimes bowlers feel uncomfortable at certain situations, but he has never said no to me."

The manner in which Mushfiqur managed to get the best out of the five bowlers will remain as a notch in the captain's belt. The spinners impressed and the pace bowlers just about managed to get away with their ten overs, but it was the management of these spells that was vital in keeping Sri Lanka quiet after such a good start, and in taking wickets later when the final slog was supposed to be in full swing.

"I wanted to use Mominul or Nasir, but they had a partnership going till the 35th over," Mushfiqur said. "Using occasional bowler against set batsmen would have been tough on them given the fielding restrictions these days."

Bangladesh take on Sri Lanka one last time on this tour, in a Twenty20 game at the Pallekele International Stadium on March 31.

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20-year-old man charged with Ryder assault

A 20-year-old man has been charged with assault in connection with an attack which has left Jesse Ryder, the New Zealand cricketer, in an induced coma in Christchurch Hospital.

The man is set to appear in the Christchurch District Court on April 4. Police are also investigating the alleged involvement of a second person involved, saying that they had a "positive line of enquiry". A further statement is expected later on Friday.

"Last night Police interviewed a 20-year-old male in relation to their involvement in the initial altercation with cricketer Jesse Ryder," a police statement read. "This person has been arrested and charged with assault and will appear in the Christchurch District Court on Thursday 4 April.

"Police are following a positive line of inquiry in relation to another person. Police are waiting for an update from Christchurch Hospital on Mr Ryder's condition."

Police have overnight spoken to witnesses and reviewed CCTV footage of the incident, which left Ryder with a fractured skull, punctured lung and other internal injuries.

A Canterbury District Health Board spokesperson confirmed on Friday morning that Ryder, who suffered serious head injuries, was still in a critical condition in an induced coma, with serious head injuries.

Ryder had been celebrating the end of the season with several Wellington team mates at Aikmans Bar in Merivale. Archer said he got into a brief altercation with a group of people as he left the bar. He crossed the road to join his team mates in McDonalds, but was assaulted before he got there.

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Fearless Kusal impresses captain

Angelo Mathews, the Sri Lanka captain, has lauded the aggression and confidence of new batsman Kusal Perera, who helped the team achieve two rapid starts in the first two ODIs, after being pushed up the order.

Perera came into the side as a wicketkeeper batsman who bats in the middle order, but has since been elevated to opener in both ODIs and Twenty20s. He and Tillakaratne Dilshan blitzed 83 runs in the first eight overs of the first match, before launching another early assault in the second ODI, until the rains came.



"Kusal reminds me of the legendary Sanath Jayasuriya, because of the shots that he plays," Mathews said. "He's very fearless and he hasn't changed anything about the way he plays since he was in the under-19 teams. He wants to take on any bowler that comes his way, and he takes a lot of pressure off Dilshan as well. That combination works for us."

Perera first impressed during the limited-overs leg of Sri Lanka's tour of Australia, where he played several brief but belligerent innings - the most notable of which was an unbeaten 22 to see the side home in a low-scorer at the Gabba. He has not crossed fifty in internationals, but is coming off first-class scores of 203, 97 and 336, the last of which is a Sri Lankan domestic record.

"Every single player has his own way. We don't want to change that in any player. We want him to go out there and enjoy it. The selectors are very transparent with the players, so I'm sure as the chief selector, Sanath Jayasuriya has had a chat with Kusal about his longer-term plans for the team."

Sri Lanka had made 33 for no loss after five overs, before the rains came in the second ODI, and the washout means Sri Lanka must win their final match to win the series. Mathews suggested, Sri Lanka are likely to name an unchanged XI in the final match, meaning Angelo Perera, Sachith Pathirana and Kithuruwan Vithanage may not debut in ODIs in this series.

Vithanage and Angelo Perera have been picked in the Twenty20 squad, and are well in the running to play in that match, given the absence of senior players in that squad.

"If we had won the second ODI we would have tried out some new players. We still haven't decided on our XI but I'm pretty sure that the team might have been changed if we had won the second ODI. The first few overs we got off to a really good start, but it was disappointing that the rain came down quite heavily and we couldn't play a single over after that. As far as the team is concerned, you have to be relaxed about something like that, but we need to get our focus back and get things in line for the next game.

"I feel that it is a good challenge for us. We haven't won the series yet, so we have to play some really good cricket to win it. From a thinking point of view we have to be as positive as we can, and try and play to our potential."

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Franchises fear Chennai no longer level playing field

The IPL governing council's decision to exclude Sri Lankan players from matches in Chennai has been met with some disappointment and concern by the other franchises. They are disappointed at being excluded from the decision-making process, and that the decision taken did not follow precedent. In addition, they are concerned over the possible consequence - that Chennai Super Kings may have an added advantage in their home games.

While Super Kings' Sri Lankan players are not crucial to their plans, several of their compatriots are vital members of their respective teams. Those teams will not be fielding their first XI when playing in Chennai - both in the league stage and in the knockout stage, in which two matches are scheduled to be staged in Chennai.

Officials of the eight other franchises were not willing to go on record and said they were unlikely to raise this formally within the IPL. However, they wonder why the precedent set in 2010 - when the matches were shifted out of Bangalore after the twin bomb blasts, and not a single game was held in Hyderabad because of the Telengana agitation - was not followed this time.

"Why did the IPL not call for a meeting with the franchises? They could have had a consensus by asking all the franchises, which they did during the Telengana crisis," one franchise official said. "It is a similar situation now, just as when Deccan Chargers games were moved out of Hyderabad due to the Telengana debate."

The Hyderabad situation was precipitated by a movement, that turned violent, in Andhra Pradesh for a separate Telengana state, the IPL initially decided to move all seven home games of Deccan Chargers, the then local franchise, out of the state. Eventually, the Chargers played two matches in Cuttack, a catchment area, two in Mumbai, and three in Nagpur.

Two months later, there were two low-intensity bomb blasts outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore, minutes before a league match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians. The match went ahead after officials guaranteed safety, but the IPL moved the semi-finals out of Bangalore to Mumbai.

Citing those two incidents, the franchises are now asking why the IPL could not move the home games of Chennai Super Kings elsewhere. "To me the rule is, if you can't manage a team inside your state then move the game (outside)," a team official said.

However, IPL franchises don't always have a say in decision-making and a BCCI official contacted by ESPNcricinfo echoed that line. "It is not mandatory for the IPL authorities to consult the franchises," he said on condition of anonymity. "The franchises are taken into confidence more or less on every issue [but] we cannot speak in public about a particular issue."

The IPL's latest decision leaves Chennai Super Kings without two players - Nuwan Kulasekara and Akhila Dhananjaya - who, it can reasonably be said, would not have been regular starters. Kulasekara was bought by Super Kings in 2011 and has featured in six matches - including one match last season. Dhananjaya, 19, was bought at the player auction in February and was always likely to be on the bench given the team's strong overseas contingent - including Albie Morkel and Francois du Plessis (both South Africa), Dwayne Bravo (West Indies) and fast bowlers Ben Hilfenhaus and Dirk Nannes (both Australia).

In contrast, Sri Lankan players feature prominently on several of the other teams. Mahela Jayawardene captains Delhi Daredevils and is their key batsman; Kumar Sangakkara will captain Sunrisers Hyderabad and also keep wicket; Lasith Malinga is the strike bowler for Mumbai Indians; Angelo Matthews is the go-to allrounder for Pune Warriors; Tillakaratne Dilshan plays a triple role, as batsman, bowler, and a top fielder for Royal Challengers, and Muttiah Muralitharan is their lead spinner. All these teams will have to play Super Kings in Chennai without their first XI, while the home franchise could notionally field their strongest side.

Sri Lankan players are a significant part of franchises' planning because of their familiarity with conditions and their availability through the tournament. This year, too, various franchises recruited a few Lankan players to suit specific game-plans. Kolkata Knight Riders' sole buy at the auction was Sachithra Senanayake, a $625,000 alternative to the West Indiaes spinner Sunil Narine. Pune Warriors India bid aggressively to bag Mathews and Ajantha Mendis, who, in the absence of Michael Clarke, are likely to play an important role in the team's strategies.

Daredevils got Dinesh Chandimal, the wicketkeeper-batsman, as a replacement for the injured Kevin Pietersen, to raise their Sri Lankan count to three, along with Jayawardene and legspinner Jeevan Mendis. Thisara Perera, who once played for Super Kings, was bought by the Sunrisers, while Rajasthan Royals purchased wicket-keeper batsman Kusal Perera.

Now those teams will have to playSuper Kings, twice winners of the IPL and of the Champions League Twenty20, at Chepauk with a tweaked game-plan and without their best side.

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Chand ton floors Gujarat, Umesh takes five on return

Group A

Unmukt Chand's second consecutive hundred helped Delhi trounce Gujarat by 112 runs and register their first points in the table. It was a solo show by Chand as he hit ten sixes and ten fours in his 125 that came off only 63 balls. The second highest scorer in the line up was opener Dhruv Shorey with 25 runs. All Gujarat bowlers, except Akshar Patel, were taken for plenty as Chand piled on and was out in the last over as Delhi amassed 198 runs. Then Sumit Narwal picked three quick wickets to derail the chase - Gujarat stumbled 18 for 5 in the sixth over and never recovered. The innings was wrapped up in the 18th over.

Vidarbha sealed a comprehensive win over Odisha in Indore. Vidarbha chose to bat and their decision was justified by a quickfire 63 from Ravi Jangid, who struck eight fours and two sixes in his 33-ball knock. He was helped by useful contributions from the middle and lower orders, including Apoorv Wankhede, who made 26 in 10 balls. In response to Vidarbha's 180, Odisha managed only 107. Opener Ankit Yadav batted through the innings to remain unbeaten on 54, but saw wickets tumble at the other end. Only one other player reached double-figures in the chase, wrecked by fast bowler Umesh Yadav, who picked up his first five-for in Twenty20 cricket, taking 5 for 18. Umesh last played for India in the Ahmedabad Test in November 2012 after which he was sidelined due to a back problem. This was his first game of competitive cricket after that break.

Group B

A rapid half-century by Wriddhiman Saha set up Bengal's 14-run win against Uttar Pradesh in Indore. Put into bat, Bengal openers Shreevats Goswami and Subhomoy Das partnered in a 62-run stand, but both were out in quick succession. Saha arrived in the 11th over and along with Laxmi Ratan Shukla, added a further 98 runs in 9.1 overs. He hit two sixes and seven fours in his 35-ball 64. UP stayed abreast with the require rate during the first half of their chase, but lost four wickets during the period. They were 91 for 7 and only a spirited 31-ball 49 by Praveen Kumar took them close to the target. With the win, Bengal went to the top of Group B table with eight point from two games.

Punjab eased to a nine-wicket win over Baroda in Indore, after their bowlers restricted the opposition to 126. Baroda chose to bat, and their opening pair added 44 in 4.4 overs. But captain Aditya Waghmode, who had largely been responsible for the quick start, was the first to fall, and the innings soon slipped to 50 for 3. Krunal Pandya chipped in with 23 in the middle order and was helped by the lower order in pushing the score to 126. Medium-pacer Amitoze Singh picked up three wickets and in a collective bowling effort, was aided by three others who took two each. In the chase, Ravi Inder Singh struck 69 and fellow opener, and captain, Mandeep Singh chipped in with an unbeaten 46. The pair added 118 and that helped Punjab seal the game with more than five overs to spare.

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Ryder in coma after dual assaults

Jesse Ryder, the New Zealand batsman, is in an induced coma in hospital after being assaulted twice late on Wednesday evening in Christchurch. Ryder, 28, is in intensive care after suffering a fractured skull. Christchurch Police believes the skull was fractured in the second of the two attacks.

The first took place about 12.30am outside the Aikman's Bar in a Christchurch suburb Merivale, where Ryder had been out with team-mates and friends following Wellington's loss to Canterbury. The second occurred minutes later at the entrance to the car park of a McDonald's across the road, where other Wellington players had been ordering food.

"An altercation has taken place on the footpath outside Aikman's involving Jesse and a group of at least two other males. The altercation was brief," Detective Senior Sergeant Brian Archer told reporters in Christchurch. "Following that incident, Ryder and two other persons walked across the road towards McDonald's, where his Wellington teammates had been purchasing some food. A second altercation has taken place at the entrance to the McDonald's car park, involving one of the males from the earlier group.

"In that incident it appears Jesse has been the victim of a serious assault and has suffered head injuries as a result. Ambulance and police were called about at 12.44am. Jesse was taken to hospital where he remains in intensive care.

"The hospital advise that Jesse is in a critical condition, he is in an induced coma as a result of suffering multiple injuries. He is still being assessed for a number of injuries and we are not prepared to discuss that any further."

Archer said that while police had "positive lines of inquiry", they had not yet identified Ryder's attackers. CCTV footage from Aikman's and McDonald's is being reviewed, he said. "We believe at least 10 or more people have witnessed some of the events, and we've been speaking to witnesses throughout the day," he said. "There are CCTV cameras in the area and we're going through the process of downloading at reviewing that footage.

"At the moment we have not identified the people involved in the incident, but we do have positive lines of inquiry, and we will be focusing on identifying and finding those people, and speaking to them.

"Although the Wellington players had been at a licensed premises during the evening, at this stage there is no evidence that alcohol was a contributing factor to the assault. We are asking any witnesses to contact police and calling for people involved to come forward and speak to us about it."

Ryder, who has played 18 Tests for New Zealand before going into a self-imposed exile from international cricket for the last year, had been due to join up with the Delhi Daredevils later this week, ahead of the start of the IPL season in early April. In January, he ruled out a return for New Zealand, despite his impressive domestic form.

"We are all shocked by what has occurred and extremely concerned for Jesse. New Zealand Cricket's thoughts are with him and his family," NZC chief executive, David White, said in a statement.

A post on New Zealand Cricket's official Twitter read: "Thoughts are with [Jesse] Ryder this morning."

New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor added: "Thinking of you mate [Jesse] Ryder." Ryder's manager, Aaron Klee, wrote on his Twitter page: "Thanks for the calls and msgs of support for Jesse. Just heading to [Christchurch] to see him."

White, Peter Clinton from Cricket Wellington, Heath Mills from the New Zealand Cricket Players' Association and Klee have arrived in Christchurch to assist.

Before embarking on his sabbatical from international cricket last year, Ryder was dropped from New Zealand's ODI side after breaking team protocols concerning alcohol. In 2008, again in Christchurch, he injured his hand when putting it through a glass window after a drinking session.

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Kerala pull off massive chase

Group A

Kerala chased down Delhi's formidable total of 195 for 4 with six wickets in hand and two overs to spare in Indore. Rohan Prem, batting at No. 3 for Kerala, set the pace and stayed the course, finishing unbeaten on 92 off 51 balls. The propulsion at the finish was provided by Sachin Baby, who blitzed 48 off 19 balls. Every Delhi bowler conceded nine or more runs per over; four of the six used went at more than ten. Kerala's efforts overshadowed that of Unmukt Chand, who had scored his maiden domestic T20 century to lead Delhi's innings. Opening the batting, he made 105 off 67 balls and was dismissed off the penultimate delivery of the innings.

A collective performance from their batsman helped Gujarat inch past Odisha by three wickets and two balls to spare. Chasing 152, Gujarat kept losing wickets regularly but they ensued the chase did not lose momentum completely. Niraj Patel top-scored with 40, and Rohit Dahiya was unbeaten on 14 when the winning runs were scored. Basant Mohanty took 3 for 27 for Odisha. Gujarat had dismissed the Odisha openers off successive deliveries to hinder their progress after they won the toss. The Odisha middle order made useful contributions, the highest of which was Govind Podder's 40. Subhrajit Sahoo made 37 off 17 balls to prop up Odisha to 151 for 6.

Group B

Sayan Mondal took 3 for 19 to set up Bengal's four-run win against Baroda in Indore. Defending 149, Mondal dismissed three of the top five batsmen, and Baroda then slipped from 81 for 2 to 84 for 5. Sanjib Sanyal struck off successive deliveries to reduce Baroda to 124 for 7, and they eventually finished on 145 for 9. Bengal's score had been set up by contributions of 48 and 50 from Shreevats Goswami and Laxmi Ratan Shukla, who hit five sixes in his 23-ball innings.

Karnataka's middle and lower-order batsmen chased 130 in the last over with two wickets to spare against Punjab. After their top three batsmen scored only 16 runs together, Manish Pandey (31) put on 25 with Stuart Binny (17) and 31 with CM Gautam (31). 75 for 5 when Pandey was dismissed, Gautam and Karun Nair (16) took them till 117 when they lost two wickets in two balls. Ultimately, Vinay Kumar and Abhimanyu Mithun took them home.

When Punjab had batted, Ravi Inder Singh fired at the top with 60 off 44 but he did not get any support. Only three other batsmen reached double figures as they lost their last seven wickets for 24 runs to be dismissed in 18.1 overs and Binny finished with 3 for 26.

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Pujara could succeed in ODIs too - Dravid

A live interaction between Rahul Dravid and nine of his fans

Former India captain Rahul Dravid has said Cheteshwar Pujara, who succeeded him at No. 3 in India's Test side, could have what it takes to perform in ODIs as well. He was speaking at 'A Day with Dravid', an ESPNcricinfo event in which nine cricket fans got the chance to interact with him from across the world.

Pujara has an average of 65 after 13 Tests, having scored four hundreds and three half-centuries, and has drawn comparisons with Dravid. He hasn't made his ODI debut yet, but in 61 domestic one-day matches Pujara averages 56.97, with eight hundreds and 17 fifties.

"He's had a great start to his international career, in fact a much better start than I did," Dravid said. "I think he has been brought up in the old school of batsmanship. He is developing more shots and he approaches Test cricket in the same way as I did.

"He's got some good basics in place," Dravid said. "You can see that he is constantly improving and he is someone who will find answers to questions. He is going to have his ups and downs and face a lot of challenges adapting to different forms of the game and conditions. With his attitude and the way he is going about playing his cricket, I think he will find answers to a lot of these questions and one of them will be one-day cricket."

Dravid also said, during the event, that Test cricket needed needed better scheduling, and more matches for all teams, in order to survive. "One thing I'd like to see definitely is scheduling to be a lot better, and the ability for most countries to play a lot more Test cricket," he said. "I'd love to see all the teams get the opportunity to play a lot more cricket against each other. I think it will really see Test cricket come up and improve, and the only way for it to survive is to play it as often as possible."

He spoke in length about his desire to perform well abroad when he had started playing international cricket. He played first-class cricket in India for four years before making his Test debut in England, where he scored 95 at Lord's in 1996.

"I wanted to do well abroad in conditions that I wasn't used to," he said. "When I was growing up, one of my coaches stressed that you have to do well outside India to be judged a very good player. One of the things I found difficult adjusting to was bounce early on in my international career.

"When I went to Australia, South Africa or England for the first time, I would see some of the foreign top-order batsmen leave balls on length. As soon as the ball pitched on a particular area, they would leave it. Indian batsmen's instinct was to play at those balls because if you left those balls in India, they would probably hit the top of off or middle stump. That ability to adjust to that bounce and know which ball to leave instinctively on length, especially early on in your innings, was one of the most difficult adjustments to play."

Answering fans' questions on the contemporary game and the changes it has seen over the years, Dravid expressed his admiration for the players who can play the switch hit, but also said he wanted the rule to be fair for the bowlers.

"I can't imagine the way some guys pull that off," he said. "When I see someone like a [Kevin] Pietersen or [David] Warner pull it off, you can see the value of the shot like that. If you were to play the switch hit, then the wide rule should change as well. You should allow the bowler to bowl outside the off stump. I think it's an incredibly skilful and difficult shot to play and I'm all for it as long as you give the bowler protection as well."

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