Sammy defends wait-and-watch approach

Was it the rain? Or was it Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels? West Indies needed 81 to win from 37 balls with six wickets remaining when a hailstorm ended the first semi-final of the World T20, leaving Sri Lanka winners by 27 runs by the Duckworth-Lewis method. Gayle made 3 off 13, and Samuels was unbeaten on 18 off 29 when the rain came down.

Darren Sammy said it was disappointing to go out under the rain rule, and refused to answer when he was asked whether West Indies could afford Gayle and Samuels taking as much time as they did. When he was asked a related question about the high number of dot balls faced by Gayle and Samuels, Sammy admitted that both had not been able to deliver in this tournament, but said that both had performed in the past.

"When you lose a cricket game, people tend to point out all different areas where that should have happened, this should have happened," Sammy said. "But I am sure if you look at all the games we have played, there are more than 27 dots [25, between Gayle and Samuels].

"Probably 50-something dots. It's not ideal for Twenty20 but we've developed a formula in which that works for us. We know we are a boundary-hitting team. We know we have got to improve in rotating the strike but if you look at the way Gayle plays, he normally gives himself some time to get used to the wicket and catch up in the end. But the thing is, in this tournament he has not carried.

	I guess the Almighty wants them to leave on a high, so I guess they have one more game to try and win a World Cup and leave on a high Darren Sammy on Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene

"Marlon has not been batting well for us. It is one area - we always tell him, whatever rate you walk into, you try to keep it at that or increase it. Yes, we could say Marlon has not had the best of tournaments but he is one of our better batsmen and in the last World Cup (in 2012), he was the star for us. People have a few dips in form."

West Indies began with 17 runs off the opening over but scored only 13 off the next five of the fielding restrictions. Sammy and Dwayne Bravo had catapulted them home against Australia in a tense chase and also nearly doubled the score against Pakistan in the last five overs. The captain pointed to that and said West Indies could have pulled it off again.

"Gayle and [Dwayne] Smith have a very clear idea of how they want to go and play. The first over, we were off to a flyer but they brought on the offspinner (Sachithra Senanayake) and (Lasith) Malinga who bowled really well at Gayle and Smith. We were again behind the eight-ball and just when Bravo looked like picking it up like he did in the last game, he got out but we still had the belief that we could get 12 runs an over in the last six. I guess we have been doing that in this tournament. It is just disappointing but there is nothing we could do about it."

Sammy praised Sri Lanka for their display and said the rain gods had intervened because they wanted Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, both of whom will be retiring from T20 internationals at the end of the tournament, to win a world limited-overs title after four losses in finals in 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2012.

"Disappointing to come out of the tournament like this but credit to Sri Lanka. They won the toss, batted first. Probably they knew that some (bad) weather was around. But we have had a good run in this tournament, it is just sad that we got knocked out by the D/L system. But that's life. You move on and we will start planning for the next T20 World Cup.

"I took it like 'you know what, we have won a World Cup'. We are a praying team, we know God normally answers our prayers but today, I guess two gentlemen who have played for Sri Lanka, given a lot not only to Sri Lanka cricket but cricket on the whole, I guess the Almighty wants them to leave on a high, so I guess they have one more game to try and win a World Cup and leave on a high. Probably that's the reason why God put a hand in this match. I am sure I will have another shot at playing the T20 World Cup and we are looking forward to winning it again in the near future."

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Sri Lanka thrive before the storm

Before the hail, lightning, gust and rain, it was Sri Lanka who were bossing it at the Shere Bangla National Stadium. Their fielding, bowling and decision-making pushed West Indies on the back foot for 13.5 overs of the chase.

Dinesh Chandimal's decision not to play in the semi-final can be seen as a defensive move, especially coming from the team's appointed captain himself. But it was daring of the man not to play, and let the winning combination stick. And it worked, with his replacement Lahiru Thirimanne hitting a crucial 44.

It was only fitting for Angelo Mathews, the only Sri Lanka player to have played all 17 games of a long stay in Bangladesh, to play a major role in taking them a stage they would have targeted when they landed in Bangladesh. And he was quick to praise Chandimal for stepping aside for the team's benefit, a rare occurrence but one that made complete sense.

"It was a collective decision," Mathews said. "The selectors, management and Chandimal [decided]. We have to do what is best for the team all the time, regardless of who you are. I think he opted out because he wanted the best XI on the park. So I think it was a great and brave decision."

For the second game running, Sri Lanka has showed the importance of bowling tight and backing it up with strong fielding. They have been doing it in Bangladesh since January 27, when they started their long sojourn in the country. They have been beaten the home side 1-0, 2-0 and 3-0 in the Tests, T20s and ODIs respectively as well as winning the Asia Cup. But despite playing 17 matches so far, Sri Lanka's fielding standards have hardly dropped and they have looked even better at the fag end of a very long tour.

Mathews praised the effort of his team-mates as well as the coaching staff for the unflagging levels. "It is all the hard work that the boys do. I think they have been managed pretty well. When you play the intensity every other day, it takes a lot out of you. You need to manage yourself and still work really hard.

"Fitness, fielding and skills, we were consistent in the last couple of months in these areas. It will be ideal to win the title and go back home."

After Sri Lanka posted 160 for 6, Dwayne Smith began with a bang, caning Nuwan Kulasekara for 17 runs in the first over. On cue, Sri Lanka started to bowl better lengths, drying up the runs. By the time Chris Gayle was put out of his misery in the fifth over by Lasith Malinga, Sri Lanka had put a foot on the door that had started to slam on them. Smith was gone in the same over, and from then on, the fielding came to the fore.

West Indies are generally not the most athletic side between the wickets, preferring to dealing more in big shots. So it was important that the boundaries were cut off, and it started with Tillakaratne Dilshan in the eighth over when he slid to save a boundary, and repeated it in the 10th over. Apart from these two, there were several other mini-stops and slides that cut off whatever the West Indies were trying to add.

Mathews said it was important to pick up wickets when they got wind, quite literally, of rain nearing Mirpur. It prompted Malinga to bowl more in the first six overs, instead of keeping most of his quota for the death.

"After the first half, we heard there might be bit of rain. We just had to keep them tight because they have some big hitters who can't be stopped if they got going.

"We had to take wickets to push them back. Lasith came to bowl in the first six overs which he doesn't do normally, but we needed our best bowler to come and take wickets"

Sri Lanka could have been expected to be tired against New Zealand in their last group game and in the semi-final, but they sprung up at the right time and look on the way to a perfect ending to their stay in Bangladesh.

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Why Jaipur, Raipur and Dharamsala missed out

The major talking points of the schedule of the India leg of the IPL were the omission of Raipur and Jaipur from the list of host cities, and Ranchi having been preferred over Kochi as Chennai Super Kings' second home. The IPL authorities have said that the changes were made due to lack of security assurances from some of the state governments.

Jaipur missed out because of the inability of the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) to acquire requisite state government clearances. "We have not got the No-Objection Certification (NOC) from them," IPL chairman Ranjib Biswal said. It has been understood that the court-appointed BCCI-IPL president Sunil Gavaskar has extended the deadline for all the shortlisted IPL venues to provide NOC from their respective police authorities by Wednesday (April 2).

While RCA officiating secretary KK Sharma was unavailable for a comment, a RCA insider revealed it was a win-win situation for all stakeholders. "The state association is in a mess. Election results are held by the court. The BCCI is against the RCA. And even the team owners were not so keen on Jaipur as their first choice, so everyone is happy," said the insider. This will be the second time Ahmedabad will feature as the home venue for Rajasthan Royals, after hosting four Royals home matches in 2010.

Although no one from Royals was available for an on-record comment, it is understood that the franchise was not interested in Jaipur due to the various on-going controversies in the RCA. Even last year the franchise was kept on edge till a last-minute turnaround by the Rajasthan Sports Council allowed the Royals to play at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur which had been locked out earlier. "Ahmedabad has three-times bigger capacity, has three times less hassles and more sponsors are available for the franchise," a former RCA official said.

There had been few problems in Raipur last year, when two of Delhi Daredevils' home games were held at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh Stadium. ESPNcricinfo understands that the franchise had requested to host two more matches this year, following the overwhelming response for both matches. Biswal said Raipur missed out since it was "not necessary to have so many venues" this season.

Like Raipur, Dharamsala, the picturesque venue in Himachal Pradesh that had emerged as Punjab's second home venue over the years, does not find a slot in this season's schedule. The reason is the same as Jaipur's. "Despite writing to the relevant police authorities twice and a HPCA representative meeting them in person for providing the requisite security cover for IPL games, they just didn't even bother to respond - either in affirmative or negative," said Vishal Marwaha, secretary of Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association. "This just shows that the state government just didn't want IPL matches to be played in Himachal."

As a result, Kings XI will play two of their home games in Cuttack, the home city of IPL chairman Biswal. According to Mohit Burman, a co-owner at Kings XI Punjab, the franchise had asked for Ahmedabad as the first alternative. "They had consulted us and even if Cuttack was not our preference we are happy," Burman said.

The Chennai Super Kings will also play two of their home games outside the city they are based in, hosting them in Ranchi - the hometown of India and Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni. Super Kings had received tremendous response for their 2013 Champions League Twenty20 games in Ranchi. As a result, despite Kerala Cricket Association TC Mathew having announced that Kochi was set to host "a couple of CSK home matches", Ranchi got the nod of the IPL authorities.

It is understood that during their meeting with the IPL officials in Chennai in February had been asked to submit their shortlist of alternate venues other than their home grounds. And the BCCI insiders said they have done their best to accommodate most of their requests.

"It's extremely impossible to adhere to each and everyone's preference," an official said. "Without going into the specifics of an individual venue, I would say that considering the logistical challenges and the operational considerations, we have drawn a schedule that would suit virtually everyone. We have to factor in kit and crew movements, also the fact that every team has to get at least one game in a weekend double header."

The IPL starts on April 16 in the UAE, where 20 matches will be played, and shifts to India on May 2 with the final scheduled for June 1 in Mumbai.

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Guts key to spin bowling - Ashwin

R Ashwin believes the "guts" shown by the Indian spinners to flight the ball and overcome the fear of being hit in T20s has been the major factor for India's success

Manjrekar: Ashwin, Mishra's skills have helped India

A legspinner tossing the ball high, giving it a rip with his wrist to lure the batsman out before getting it to dip, grip, turn and earning a stumping. An offspinner tossing the ball high, giving it a tweak with his fingers to draw the batsman forward, getting it to drift, grip, turn and earning an outside edge to slip. These are not dismissals you normally associate with Twenty20 cricket. But these are just two instances of what Amit Mishra and R Ashwin have been able to achieve in this World T20.

Both spinners have had principal roles to play in each of India's four successive victories in the group stage. On three of those occasions, they have not had the weight of runs backing them, as India relied on their preferred strategy of chasing. All three of those matches - against Pakistan, West Indies and Bangladesh - were 'live' ones, with qualification for the knockouts dependent on their results. Mishra was the Man of the Match against Pakistan and West Indies; Ashwin got the award against Bangladesh.

Two subcontinent sides supposedly accustomed to playing spin, and a third which has backed itself to hit the big shots under pressure, and have done so in crunch matches against Pakistan and Australia. None of them managed even 140 against the Indians.

The conditions have been spinner-friendly in Bangladesh, particularly so in Dhaka. MS Dhoni has said it has been one of the main reasons why the Indian slow bowlers have done so well. Ravindra Jadeja hasn't been among them, though. It is not really his style to lure batsmen with flight and guile.

But no matter how much the conditions support you, it takes tremendous heart for a spinner to bowl slow when the temptation is to fire it in quick. To overcome the ever-present fear of getting hit in T20 and toss the ball up. For one spinner to do it in a single T20 is itself remarkable. For two in the same XI to do it over the course of a world tournament with so much control is incredible. Ashwin, and particularly Mishra's, biggest achievement this World T20 has been to consistently beat this fear, and do so without the security of a big total to defend every time it mattered.

This absence of fear, or presence of "guts", over four matches is what South Africa will be up against. It was a term Ashwin used several times ahead of India's semi-final clash. "In terms of variation of pace, you need a lot of guts," Ashwin said. "If you're at the top of your game, you can land the ball exactly where you want it to land.

But apart from that, to actually slow the ball down when the batsman's going after you is a key component of this particular game, for which you need quite a lot of guts. And if you've gone for a six, it requires even more guts to come back the next ball. Those are the key components of a winning game, as far as I'm concerned."

It tells you a lot about a spinner's state of mind when he says the ball is behaving as he wills it. "In the last two or three months, I feel that I'm probably at the top of my bowling game," Ashwin said. "When I reach that phase, I pretty much don't practice at all. That's a phase I'm in right now. The ball is landing exactly where I want."

South Africa will have to counter Mishra and Ashwin on a helpful and unfamiliar surface - they have been playing in Chittagong so far - and that too in a knockout. Bowlers have not had to contend with heavy dew turning the ball into soap in Dhaka, like it did so often in Chittagong.

South Africa have probably the most nerveless innovator among current limited-overs batsmen in AB de Villiers, and they will need to keep calm when it comes to taking on spin. South Africa also have the Super 10 stage's leading wicket-taker in Imran Tahir, who's managed 11 wickets in less helpful conditions with his mix of quick sliders and googlies.

He's had a well-publicised visit from Shane Warne in the Mirpur nets. Will he stick to what has worked for him in Chittagong, or will he use more flight and turn like the Indians have? Whatever method he uses, Ashwin said it would again come down to the same word - guts.

"When it comes to international cricket, there's a very small margin between the quality of spinners. Everybody's bound to have a certain amount of quality in them. It's all about the mental make-up of the spinner and the amount of guts he has in that particular scenario," Ashwin said. "It'll be handling pressure that makes the difference, because Imran Tahir has been in top form. And I expect (Aaron) Phangiso to play. When that happens, you're pretty much evened out on the amount of spinners both teams will play. It comes down to how well your spinners handle it."

Apart from pressure, the spinners might also have to deal with a wet outfield, as rain is expected around the time of the match on Friday. The last time rain came down in an India game in a World T20, against Australia in 2012 in Colombo, it contributed to their exit from the tournament, as their three spinners found it difficult to grip the ball. Even Mishra and Ashwin, for all their heart, could struggle if it rains again.

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Windies firepower gives them the edge

Sri Lanka and West Indies won three matches and lost one each in the group stages of the World Twenty20, and their overall batting and bowling stats are fairly similar. West Indies have the marginally better batting numbers, with a slightly higher scoring rate and average, while Sri Lanka have a marginally better bowling average. Both teams have taken exactly 31 wickets, which shows there's little to separate the two teams.

Both teams have had one match in which they leaked more than 170 runs - West Indies conceded 178 against Australia (but still managed to win) while Sri Lanka went for 190 against England. Both have also had a couple of excellent bowling performances: Sri Lanka shot out Netherlands for 39 and New Zealand for 60, while West Indies bowled out Bangladesh for 98 and Pakistan for 82.

In terms of scoring patterns, though, there is some difference. West Indies have relied heavily on boundaries: they've struck almost twice as many sixes as Sri Lanka, and have scored almost 66% of their runs in fours and sixes. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, have played about 15% fewer dot balls than West Indies.

Overall stats for SL and WI in the World T20 2014

	Batting			Bowling
	Runs scored	Average	Run rate	Wkts taken	Average	Econ rate
Sri Lanka	513	23.31	7.97	31	14.48	6.87
West Indies	645	26.87	8.09	31	15.74	6.36

How SL and WI have scored their runs

Team	1s/ 2s/ 3s	Dot-ball %	4s/ 6s	Boundary %
Sri Lanka	134/ 36/ 0	40.26	49/ 14	57.61
West Indies	136/ 32/ 1	47.29	57/ 27	65.77

The bowling comparison

Spin has played a prominent role in the campaigns of both teams so far. West Indies have had Samuel Badree at the start of the innings, and Sunil Narine through the middle and end overs, while Sachitra Senanayake and Ajantha Mendis were Sri Lanka's spin options through much of the tournament, before Rangana Herath made his tournament debut against New Zealand and completely blew them away with figures of 5 for 3.

Overall, West Indies have been more reliant on their spinners: they've bowled more overs than the seamers, and have accounted for 19 of their 31 wickets. Badree is the third-highest wicket-taker of the tournament, while Narine's economy rate of 4.50 is second only Bhuvneshwar Kumar's, among bowlers who have bowled at least 10 overs in the tournament. And then there has been Krishmar Santokie, the unsung hero for West Indies: no one's talked much about him, but he has taken six wickets at an average of 13.83 and an economy rate of 5.59. (Click here for West Indies' batting and bowling averages in the tournament.)

For Sri Lanka, Nuwan Kulasekara has been superb, taking six wickets at 11.67 and an economy rate of 5.83, but Lasith Malinga has had a relatively quiet tournament, taking three wickets in 12 overs. (Click here for Sri Lanka's batting and bowling averages in the tournament.)

Pace and spin stats for SL and WI

	Spin				Pace
	Overs	Wkts	Average	Econ rate	Overs	Wkts	Average	Econ rate
Sri Lanka	25.0	13	12.76	6.64	40.2	13	21.07	6.79
West Indies	41.4	19	12.31	5.61	35.0	12	20.91	7.17

In terms of their bowling performances in different stages of an innings, both Sri Lanka and West Indies have been superb during the Powerplay overs, taking plenty of wickets and restricting the runs. Both teams have taken 11 wickets in the first six overs - the most by any team in the tournament - though Sri Lanka have a slightly better economy rate. There's little to choose between their stats in the middle overs too, but in the last five, West Indies have a better economy rate. Sri Lanka have conceded 9.55 per over in the last five, thanks to their games against England and South Africa, when they went for 48 off 26 balls and 45 off 30 in the last five overs.

WI and SL with the ball so far in the tournament

	First 6 overs		6.1 to 15 overs		Last 5 overs
	Average	Econ rate	Average	Econ rate	Average	Econ rate
Sri Lanka	10.45	4.79	21.81	7.61	10.44	9.55
West Indies	11.90	5.45	25.60	7.11	10.10	6.06

West Indies' last five overs blitz

As mentioned earlier, West Indies have been strong boundary hitters in the tournament, and they've been especially destructive in the last five overs of their innings. Their run rate in the last five is 12.55, a period during which they've scored 247 runs in 118 balls. Darren Sammy alone has caused immeasurable damage to the opposition bowling figures during this period, scoring 99 off 39 balls during this period, at a staggering run rate of 15.23 per over. Dwayne Bravo hasn't done badly either, scoring 54 from 24. Sri Lanka's run rate of 9.83 in the last five isn't too bad (141 runs from 86 balls), but this is clearly a period that has belonged to West Indies.

Sri Lanka's strength has been more in the middle overs, when they've scored at a brisk pace without losing too many wickets. Mahela Jayawardene has been at the forefront in this aspect, scoring 74 off 50 balls during this period (run rate 8.88) and getting out just once.

WI and SL scoring patterns in the tournament so far

	First 6 overs		6.1 to 15 overs		Last 5 overs
Team	Average	Run rate	Average	Run rate	Average	Run rate
Sri Lanka	24.00	7.30	40.80	7.55	14.10	9.83
West Indies	53.33	6.66	21.63	6.61	24.70	12.55

The Mirpur factor

West Indies also have the advantage of having played all their matches in Mirpur - which is the venue for the semi-final - while Sri Lanka have played in Chittagong. However, conditions in Mirpur have favoured spin more than in Chittagong, which should suit Sri Lanka as well: spinners have bowled twice as many overs in Mirpur compared to Chittagong in the main stage of the tournament, and achieved better economy rates. (Click here for the stats of spinners at the two venues, and here for the pace bowlers' numbers.)

The head-to-head history

Sri Lanka and West Indies have played five Twenty20 internationals so far, all of them in the World Twenty20. While Sri Lanka won the first four, West Indies beat them in the big game, the final of the 2012 edition, by 36 runs. Four of the five matches between them have been won by the team batting first.

In matches between these two teams, Jayawardene has been the top batsman, scoring 202 runs at a strike rate of 133.77; Tillakaratne Dilshan isn't far behind in terms of aggregate, scoring 187 at a strike rate touching 160. West Indies' batsmen have been relatively quiet, with Chris Gayle scoring only 73 in four innings.

Among the bowlers, Mendis has stunning stats: in 20 overs he has figures of 13 for 82, an average of 6.30 and an economy rate of 4.10. Malinga, though, has leaked almost 9.50 runs per over against West Indies. Narine has played only two games against Sri Lanka, but has been his usual self, taking 3 for 32 from 7.4 overs.

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India wrap up 2016 berth with narrow win

India Women 106 for 7 (Mithali Raj 39, Sania Khan 3-15) beat Pakistan Women 100 for 9 (Nahida Khan 26, Nida Dar 24*, Soniya Dabir 3-14) by 6 runs
Scorecard

India Women booked a place in the 2016 Women's World T20 with a narrow win over Pakistan Women in the qualification play-off in Sylhet. Six teams - the four semifinalists and the two winners of the play-off games - qualify directly for the next edition of the tournament, while the other teams go into a separate qualifying tournament.

Chasing 107, Pakistan lost wickets regularly, three of them to medium-pacer Soniya Dabir, but useful knocks from their No. 3 Nahida Khan and No. 9 Nida Dar had kept them in the hunt. At the start of the final over, Pakistan needed 17 to win with two wickets in hand and Nida at the crease on 19. Shubhlakshmi Sharma conceded a four to Batool Fatima second ball of the over, and a two and a leg-bye of the next two balls to leave Pakistan needing nine off the last two. Fatima, however, was run-out off the penultimate ball and Nida only managed a single off the last ball, leaving India winners by six runs.

Having chosen to bat, India's top three made decent starts but nobody kicked on to make a big score as the rest of the batting collapsed. Mithali Raj hung around to make 39 and was sixth out, off the penultimate ball of the innings, as India lost their way, going from 64 for 1 to 106 for 7. Medium-pacer Sania Khan was Pakistan's most successful bowler, with three wickets.

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IPL teams face hit in sponsor revenue

With just two weeks for the start of the IPL, many franchises are yet to finalise deals with sponsors. Kings XI Punjab, Delhi Daredevils, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore are understood to be the five franchises that have been unable to close deals including finding a front-chest sponsor, a valuable space where the brand is most prominently displayed on the shirt front.

Brand experts predicted a "tough year" claiming the franchises would suffer a deep cut of 20% in their sponsorship revenues which would be exacerbated by the loss in ticket revenues as a result of the first phase of the tournament being played in the UAE.

Uncertainty over the venue for the second half of the IPL, the economic slowdown, clash with the federal elections and the controversies that have emanated from the corruption scandal during last year's IPL are factors that have affected sponsorships.

According to Mohit Burman, one of the owners at Kings XI, as soon as the IPL announced the first 20 matches would be played in the UAE, sponsors sent a warning signal. "One of our sponsors, Lux Cozy, decided to not renew a three-year deal," Burman said. "They pulled out immediately. This year is sort of a mess. The uncertainty over the venues did hamper us. First they said it could be one of - or a combination of - South Africa, UAE and Bangladesh as the overseas venue due to the elections. Now we still do not know where the second part will be held. As it is, the market is soft and due to the recent controversies it has had an impact on the franchise costs."

	"The gate money would be reduced, the sponsorship would be reduced, there are fewer teams so the central revenue would be also be reduced" Mohit Burman, co-owner of Kings XI Punjab

Burman agreed that the overall revenues this season would be significantly lesser than previous seasons. "The gate money would be reduced, the sponsorship would be reduced, there are fewer teams so the central revenue would be also be reduced."

According to a franchise chief executive, the enthusiasm among sponsors for the IPL is not the same as it was in the first five years. "It is very difficult to get sponsorships. The IPL has taken a big beating. Everybody is negotiating - there is a massive decrease in sponsorship costs," the franchise CEO said. This CEO said he had been trying to close deals over the past month but the sponsors, mainly local, were not keen.

Yet, the CEO remained optimistic. "We are in advance talks with a bunch of people. (But) The market has been bad," he said. According to him, during the last meeting the IPL had with franchises in Chennai last month, they were told that a definite schedule would be announced in a few weeks. "The second half schedule has not come in yet. People are still waiting. If somebody wants to spend big bucks would they just bet blindly? So you need a schedule to plan the stuff, budget depending on where the matches are."

The front-chest sponsorship is worth anywhere between INR 10 crore ($1.67m) to 20 crore per season. Muthoot Finance did not renew their three-year contract with Daredevils. Ultratech Cements brought to an end a long-running relationship with Royals. Kings XI, who had two different sponsors after Emirates pulled out in 2011, is understood to have failed to find a sponsor for even one of the six advertising slots available on a team-shirt.

According to the CEO the local sponsors' biggest challenge is building brand engagement when matches are set to be held overseas. "Say some of my home matches are being played outside due to the clash of the elections, my sponsor today is not sure whether he wants to advertise outside. It is not about the TV logo anymore. It is also about activating in the local market," he said. "This is becoming ridiculous. I hope they release the (final) schedule."

Brand experts agree it is going to be gruelling summer for franchises with an estimated minimum cut of 20% in the sponsorship costs. "That is a serious cut. Moreover there will also be impact on the gate revenues with the first phase being played overseas. It is going to be a tough year," said Vinit Karnik, a top official at GroupM ESP, media planning agency.

According to Karnik he had predicted a year ago that sponsorship costs were likely to go down, and not because of the scheduling issues. "This is a peculiar year. When IPL started in 2008 most of the franchises had inked three year deals and some had signed five-year contracts with sponsors. Most of the big deals were for three-year which got renewed for another three year and re-opened in the seventh year. The five-year deals were extended by a year.

"So the seventh year (2014) was the year of a lot of supply where most of the franchises' deals were up for renewal. It is a typical demand-supply situation. If there are eight teams and there are on an average six to eight assets (sponsors) which means about 50-60 assets open in the market."

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North retires from Australian cricket

Former Test batsman Marcus North has sprung a surprise by announcing his retirement from Australian domestic cricket at the age of 34 and after a season in which he was named Sheffield Shield Player of the Year.

North will exit on a high after what he declared was his most enjoyable season, a summer in which he topped the Shield run tally with 886 at 63.28 and played in the first Shield final of his 15-year career, albeit an unsuccessful decider for Western Australia.

The resurgence of Chris Rogers as a Test player in his mid-thirties might have given North a glimmer of hope of resuming his 21-Test career if he maintained his form, but such a recall would have been a long shot and North said he could no longer maintain the fight and desire needed for a full summer.

His success during 2013-14 was all the more remarkable given that he struggled for runs last season and was dropped from the Western Australia side, but he reinvented himself as an opener and began this summer with three centuries from the first four Shield rounds. It resulted in the second most prolific campaign of his Shield career - his only better season was in 2003-04, when he made 984 at 54.66.

However, 2013-14 became a tragic summer for North away from cricket when his brother Lucas was killed in a road accident in late November. After spending some time away from the game following the accident, North returned for the BBL and then helped Western Australia to their first Shield final since 1998-99, the year before he made his debut for his state.

"I felt it was the right time to move on, in many ways, from family reasons through to the way I feel about my cricket at the moment," North said. "I really enjoyed arguably one of the best seasons in my career, but it's exhausting and I've got to the stage now where it's a big effort to maintain that over a season.

"When the times get tough and you feel that you're not going to be able to drag yourself out of it, well I've always said that's about time to move on and that's how I feel. The guys are in a really good place now and you're starting to see the influence of Justin [Langer, the WA coach] and his coaching group coming through. We're playing a tougher brand of cricket now and there's a tougher attitude within the group.

"It's their journey now and it's time for them to enjoy that. It's a huge bonus [to go out on my own terms] and I'm just so grateful to get another opportunity this year after last year and I'm thrilled I made the most of it. It would have been a fairytale finish to win a final as well, but to play in one is special to me as well. It reflects the cricket we played all year."

Although North will leave the game on a high, there is no doubt that the peak of his career personally was being a regular member of Australia's Test side during 2009 and 2010. North effectively replaced Andrew Symonds at No.6 in the Test team and scored a century on debut in Johannesburg, helping Australia to a memorable 2-1 series victory in his first trip with the team.

He followed that with a strong Ashes tour in 2009, when he scored two centuries and was fourth on the series run tally across both teams with 367, and overall his record of five hundreds in 21 Tests suggests a man who was at home at the highest level. However, North's major problem in Test and state cricket was his tendency for peaks and troughs - he matched his five Test tons with five ducks and a string of low scores led to him being axed during the 2010-11 Ashes in Australia.

For Western Australia, North was a solid performer for a decade and a half, and he took over the state captaincy from the newly retired Langer for the 2007-08 season, relinquishing it in October 2012. Langer, who played with North and then coached him, said North had always been a talented batsman who finally towards the end of his career found the consistency that had often eluded him in the past.

"You always judge a person's character by the way they come back from adversity and Marcus relinquished the captaincy, he was dropped from the Warriors last year and then to come back and have a standout season is a real credit to his character," Langer said. "Marcus was my vice-captain for about three years and took over from me as captain.

"Playing together, I always appreciated his talent and, while he would be the first to admit that he was always striving for consistency in his career, when he was on, he was a magnificent player to watch. Looking back on his career - and we've spoken a lot about this, firstly when together and now since coaching - he's always been striving for that consistency and the irony is that, now, in what has become his last year, he's probably found that formula which works so brilliantly."

Although North will not play for Western Australia next summer he is yet to decide on his BBL future and will make himself available for county cricket, while also exploring business opportunities in the UK. His departure makes it the second successive year that the season's leading Shield run scorer has immediately retired from Australian cricket, after Ricky Ponting topped the tally in 2012-13, his final summer for Tasmania.

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Gavaskar reaches out to franchises

Sunil Gavaskar will hold his first media conference as the BCCI president - IPL in Dubai on Wednesday. There was some confusion ahead of that formal interaction, however, and possibly not of Gavaskar's making, emanating from a BCCI statement that said he had briefed franchises and held a discussion with them on Monday.

Franchises contacted by ESPNcricinfo denied there was any meeting held, except for a "courtesy" conference call in which Gavaskar and IPL chairman Ranjib Biswal spoke briefly.

"Mr Sunil Gavaskar, Interim President, BCCI - IPL, had a discussion with the franchises on Pepsi IPL 2014, earlier today," Monday's statement said. "He briefed them on the preparations for the 2014 season. The franchises shared their views and extended their support and cooperation for a successful Pepsi IPL 2014."

Five franchises said nothing of this sort had happened. "They are making it look like there was a meeting," one franchise head said. "There was a conference call that Gavaskar and Biswal had with franchises. It was a courtesy call and nothing else."

"I don't know of any meeting or any call," a co-owner of another franchise said.

It is understood, however, that Gavaskar has begun the process of talking to the owners separately. The chief executive of another franchise confirmed that his team's owner had spoken with Gavaskar.

Franchise officials indicated that Gavaskar, while he was keen to understand the kind of changes they wanted, was indirectly trying to assess their opinion of Sundar Raman, the IPL chief operating officer. "That call was almost hinting at what needs to be done with Sundar Raman," the franchise head said.

Gavaskar was acting on the instructions of the Supreme Court, which last week, while giving him charge of the BCCI's IPL functions, had asked him to work out whether he wanted the services of Raman, the de facto head of the tournament.

Raman, an advertising professional, had been hired by IPL founder-chairman Lalit Modi to be his right-hand man when the tournament started. After Modi's expulsion in 2010, Raman grew equally close to BCCI president N Srinivasan, whose ouster from the BCCI last week called Raman's position into question.

Raman has never been a favourite among franchise officials but they acknowledge he is indispensable to the tournament. "He has been there right from the beginning of the IPL," the franchise head said. "So he has grown into the manager who has made himself indispensable. The fear is if he goes, it might be more trouble than him being there. So let him at least be there."

In fact officials say the tournament's smooth running will minimise the scope for Gavaskar to make any difference. "This is too short a time for anybody to make an impact," the franchise owner said. "At the end of day IMG run the league operationally. IPL officials [the BCCI] have barely any role to play other than sending emails. Otherwise, ticketing, accreditations, matches, appointments of the officials is managed by IMG. So as far as leadership goes, there is hardly anything anyone can do."

The franchise executive said the one thing he could expect of Gavaskar was to help the IPL announce the final schedule for the second phase of the tournament. "Although the BCCI indicated that the second phase of the IPL would be played in India, we are still are waiting for the schedule," he said. "We can then plan our stuff and convince sponsors."

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Pakistan consumed by waves of panic

The performance against Australia gave Pakistan fans hope but, not for the first time, they produced a polar opposite display

Pakistan never fail to surprise us, do they? If you had come expecting a thriller between two similar, explosive T20 sides, what you got instead was Pakistan showing us multiple, and all equally self-destructive, states of panic.

Two of their best bowlers, Saeed Ajmal and Umar Gul, cracked under pressure and gave away a combined 59 runs in three overs at the death. The top order went down heaving, and the middle order shut shop in response.

It was one of those nights from Pakistan. As was the night when they had sparked that incredible Australian collapse earlier in the tournament. We know both happened, separated by a matter of a few days. We also know Pakistan are capable of both kinds of displays within such a short span. We can try to delve into what happened and how it happened. Exactly why it happened, we will never really know.

Each wave of panic against West Indies only brought about another, albeit different one, from the following cast. When the opposition is 84 for 5 after 15 overs, and you have overs left from two of the most experienced and best T20 bowlers in the world, the last thing you are expecting is for both of them to lose it suddenly. And Gul lost it so much in the 18th over that as many as three fielders ran up to him at various points in the over with words of advice, or encouragement, or whatever it was that they felt could work at that moment.

Mohammad Hafeez, Shahid Afridi, Sohail Tanvir. All those interventions did not stop the over from going for 21. They also revealed Pakistan's state of mind at that point. When three different men are needed to rush to your premier fast bowler, all in the span of half an over, you tell the opposition you are on the edge, and are expecting the worst.

And the worst came in the next over. Ajmal is usually the master of these situations. He will toss one up a bit more, or he will hold it back a bit more, or he will bowl the one that turns the other way from which the batsman was expecting it to. And the batsman will have a clueless slog and fall. None of this was happening. Ajmal instead bowled short, he bowled flat, he bowled quickly. He became what your average spinner is usually at the death in limited-overs cricket - a massive risk. For that one over, he lost the aura that makes him Saeed Ajmal. He will doubtless regain that, as he did after the 2010 World T20 semi-final, but the damage had been done again.

Heaven knows how the Pakistanis felt walking off the field at the break, having allowed West Indies to nearly double their score in five overs. Heaven knows what was spoken in the Pakistan dugout at the break. All we saw was that their top order and middle order came out in two extreme states of trance - one suicidal by dint of action, one suicidal by dint of not acting at all.

Ahmed Shehzad can be excused for getting a ripper of an inswinging yorker first ball. Kamran Akmal, Umar Akmal and Shoaib Malik cannot be. Not for facing a collective, unproductive 14 deliveries between them. But for reacting in such a frenzied manner that would have you believe they had been collectively unproductive for 14 overs, and that frenzy was the only way out.

To be 13 for 4 in the sixth over is nowhere near the start you want when you are chasing 167 in a virtual quarter-final. To bottle up like Sohaib Maqsood, and particularly Hafeez, did is probably the worst response you want from your middle order when you are 13 for 4.

Pakistan consumed 40 deliveries before they hit their first boundary. One-third of a T20 innings without a single boundary. One-third of a 20 innings that had already seen a batsman heave to mid-off, and two batsmen stumped. And yet, there was not a single boundary during the fielding Restrictions. Maqsood and Hafeez added 24 in five overs. And then fell within an over of each other. It was like the cast of a play frozen in extreme stage fright after the opening acts had bungled their lines by trying too hard too soon.

If you admire Pakistan cricket for showing you the Australia collapse, tonight you were dealt so many shocks you went numb. You then attempted to make sense of each of them. Batsmen throw their bats around in T20, and as Dwayne Bravo said, even the best bowlers go for runs at the death. The top order had no choice but to try and make the most of the fielding restrictions. The downside was that they could fall while doing so, and they did. The middle order, as Hafeez said, was faced with too many jolts too soon and had absolutely no momentum to build on.

You weigh up all these arguments. Maybe they are justified standalone, maybe they are not. But how do you find explanations for such a collective and varied brain freeze? Which is why, exactly why it happened, we will never really know.

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