Shakib ruled out of Sri Lanka tour

Shakib Al Hasan has been ruled out of Bangladesh's tour to Sri Lanka next month after it was decided that he will undergo surgery this week on his right calf muscle*. His involvement in the Zimbabwe tour in April is also in doubt, as it will take him six weeks to return to active cricket, according to BCB's chief medical officer, Dr Debashish Chowdhury.

"Shakib will be out of action for at least six weeks after the surgery," Chowdhury said. "BCB has granted him permission to undergo the surgery. BCB president Nazmul Hasan agreed to release him as per the advice of the specialist in Australia."

Chowdhury however is unsure whether Shakib will return to action immediately after making a full recovery. "Apart from the exertional compartmental syndrome for which he is undergoing surgery, Shakib has sustained tenoperiostitis and stress reaction on his tibia," he said. "To heal the other two complications, he will need rest, physiotherapy, a rehabilitation programme and biomechanical correction." Shakib is expected to do the biomechanical correction test on Sunday.

He first complained of pain in his shin during Bangladesh's Test series against West Indies in November last year. He was immediately given rest and recovered in time for the Bangladesh Premier League, but he missed a couple of games in the tournament and afterwards was seen bowling off a very short run-up.

Towards the end of the tournament, Shakib was diagnosed with exertional compartment syndrome on his shin bone, a condition that can be caused by frequent running, and leads to pain and swelling. After the final, he admitted that his movement was restricted.

As a result, he was sent to Australia on February 20 where a specialist suggested he undergo the surgery to reduce stiffness in the injured area.

Bangladesh will leave for Sri Lanka on February 28, to play two Tests, three ODIs and a Twenty20.

13.15GMT, February 23: The article had previously incorrectly stated left calf muscle

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Warriors in sight of stunning victory

Western Australia 97 and 8 for 351 (Whiteman 83, Agar 71*, Marsh 51, Faulkner 4-65, Hilfenhaus 3-59) need 6 runs to beat Tasmania 211 and 242 (Ponting 76, Duffield 4-71)
Scorecard

A remarkable rearguard by Western Australia has taken the Warriors to within six runs of victory over Tasmania with a day remaining in the Sheffield Shield match at the WACA ground.

Set 357 to win early on day three after forfeiting their first innings for a mere 97, the hosts fought their way to 8 for 351 at the close of a day extended by 30 minutes to allow the match to be decided.

Tasmania remain a chance to win with a pair of late wickets, though the will be ruing the fact the match has been allowed to get that close given their earlier dominance.

WA's chase was shepherded by the young wicketkeeper Sam Whiteman, while the 19-year-old spinner Ashton Agar showed tremendous maturity in an unbeaten 71. Michael Hussey and Mitchell Marsh also contributed.

The Tigers appeared headed for the outright win, Ben Hilfenhaus and James Faulkner reducing the Warriors to 3 for 37 then 5 for 137. But Marsh, Whiteman and Agar persisted admirably to take their side to the cusp of a memorable chase.

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Zimbabwe look to avoid first ODI repeat

Match facts

February 24, 2013
Start time 0930 local (1330 GMT)

Big picture

In a short three-ODI series that doesn't last a week, a heavy defeat in the first game can quickly become a nightmare. It wouldn't be outlandish to say that 3-0 to West Indies is an expected result, but for Zimbabwe, who hardly play international cricket these days, this series offers a vital chance to show improvement. Their first outing was forgettable, but they need to avoid a repeat performance.

Their bowlers were battered by the West Indies batsmen, who could have got more than the 337 they eventually did, and when it was their turn to bat, their batsmen slipped at the first sight of Sunil Narine. In the end, it became a question of how badly would they lose. That they lasted 50 overs was largely due to a 67-ball 18 by No. 8 Prosper Utseya. In both innings, there were only a couple of performers of note and in international cricket, other teams feast upon such weaknesses. Zimbabwe need to regroup quickly, as a team, and must show the will and confidence to stay competitive.

West Indies, on the other hand, need to find the ruthlessness that went missing after their World Twenty20 title win. They are expected to steamroll the opposition in this series and the only competition is with themselves. Can they get more if they bat first? Can they bowl out Zimbabwe within 40 overs? These are the challenges that Dwayne Bravo would want his team to take head on after the recent reverses in ODIs in Australia.

Form guide

West Indies WLLLL
Zimbabwe LLLLW

In the spotlight

Darren Bravo has been around for close to four years now. He has shown numerous glimpses of his talent in the past - especially in Tests - but the hundred on Friday was his first in 51 ODI outings. He followed up his maiden Test hundred with two more soon after. With the quality of bowling Zimbabwe offer, he would certainly be hoping for another one in this series.

If Zimbabwe need to show improvement, it has to start from two of their experienced batsmen, Brendan Taylor and Hamilton Masakadza. The two were out in consecutive overs without getting into double-digit scores. With 249 matches between them, Zimbabwe would hope the pillars of their batting line-up show some resistance.

Team news

Kieron Pollard, who missed the previous match due to travel difficulties in getting to Grenada, will be available for selection for the second ODI.

West Indies: (probable) 1 Johnson Charles, 2 Kieran Powell, 3 Darren Bravo, 4 Ramnaresh Sarwan, 5 Kieron Pollard, 6 Dwayne Bravo (capt), 7 Andre Russell, 8 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 9 Kemar Roach, 10 Tino Best, 11 Sunil Narine

Zimbabwe (from) Brendan Taylor (capt), Hamilton Masakadza, Vusi Sibanda, Tino Mawoyo, Kyle Jarvis, Tendai Chatara, Chris Mpofu, Prosper Utseya, Regis Chakabva, Malcolm Waller, Keegan Meth, Craig Ervine, Chamu Chibhabha, Tino Mutombodzi, Natsai M'shangwe

Stats and trivia

• Zimbabwe's first ODI win against West Indies came in their ninth encounter - in July 2000.
• Their last win against West Indies was three years ago, in Providence.

Quotes

"A first century in a winning cause is a great feeling. The hard work is paying off and the aim is to continue and get more big scores."
Darren Bravo .

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Nothing wrong with my technique - Hafeez

Mohammad Hafeez, Pakistan's opening batsman, has fiercely denied being the team's weak link despite sub-standard performances with the bat. Hafeez registered his fourth single-digit score of the series to open Pakistan up for the second time in the match and leave them staring at a whitewash.

Despite posting his highest score of the series in the first innings - 18, Hafeez has had a disappointing time overall with just 43 runs from six innings. His record outside the subcontinent and Zimbabwe is similarly dismal with his average sitting at 15.59.

Still, he believes he is fit to continue as an opener at Test level. "I am really working hard in the nets, it's just that I got some good balls in the series," a defensive Hafeez said at the end of day two. "There is nothing wrong with my technique, it's just that the runs aren't coming and I am not performing for the team."

After surviving for more than an hour in Pakistan's first innings, Hafeez looked set to turn his fortunes around. He was driving well and looked more comfortable at the crease than he has thus far. But he succumbed to a familiar problem that ran through the entire line-up today.

As he tried to fend off extra bounce from Kyle Abbott, he popped a chance up to Dean Elgar at gully to spark Pakistan's collapse. In the second innings, it was the other problem Pakistan's openers have had that affected Hafeez - the struggle against the new ball with its pace and movement. Dale Steyn was keen to finish the job and steamed in, Hafeez was stuck in his crease and played on.

Deliveries like that, not his own inability to deal with them or the conditions, are what Hafeez thinks has hampered him this series. "The bowler did the basics right, especially by pitching the ball in the right areas," he explained. "And credit must go to them, especially to the debutant Abbott, who bowled really well. There is not too much in the pitch, there is some bounce which we expected."

Hafeez has also been under-utilised with the ball, except at the Wanderers where he made a major impact, but feels the captain "knows how to handle the players," and does not see that as a way in which he could have contributed more. Instead, he remains symbolic of Pakistan's malaise, although he also insists their troubles are not as serious as they look.

"In Cape Town we had some good moments. We couldn't put pressure on them but we are trying to fight it out. If we have one good partnership here, we can fight it out. We are very capable of scoring runs on any track. We need things to change. The series will go on and the boys will come out with some good performances," he said.

For that, Pakistan will need a Herculean partnership, even better than the one Younis Khan and Asad Shafiq put on at Newlands, which was the highest by visiting batsmen in South Africa in seven years. Younis is at the crease and Shafiq is yet to come. They also have Imran Farhat, who didn't come out to bat in the second innings. He was struck on the hand and has since had an x-ray taken, but will be fine to bat on the third day. Pakistan's chances still appear thin.

The South African attack, even without Morne Morkel and Jacques Kallis, remains potent and aggressive. Perhaps more importantly, they are uber-confident, something that was evident in Graeme Smith enforcing the follow-on. "We all thought of not having to bat last but it was a very positive move," AB de Villiers explained. "Graeme showed confidence in the bowlers. Hopefully in the morning session, it will move around a lot like it did today. I found it played quite well after lunch on day one but it does a bit in the morning."

Pakistan have had to contend with many early bursts in the series and those words will not give them any comfort. In this situation, only small goals are worthwhile, such as getting through the first over, then the first hour and then the first session. If they can achieve some of those, Hafeez may be proved right in some ways. "We lost the series but this game was a little bit different and we have to come up with some good performances," he said.

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Mohammad Akram satisfied with raw attack's performance

A combination of injuries and illnesses compelled Pakistan into fielding a pace attack with only two Tests worth of experience in Centurion. It gave their bowling coach Mohammad Akram insight into their resources - a look into the future - and he said he was "pretty satisfied" with what he saw, although there are some concerns.

The most obvious issue is that the 19-year old debutant Ehsan Adil may not be able to take further part in the match after pulling his calf muscle in the fourth over before stumps. He went off the field after the first ball of his 13th over and Akram could not confirm the severity of the injury. "He will get 14 or 15 hours of rest tonight and we hope he will bowl tomorrow," was his only answer.

Should Adil be ruled out, it will be a sad end to what must have been a dream-like few hours for the teenager. He was under no illusion that he was brought to South Africa to play Test cricket. According to Akram, Adil knew he was traveling to gain experience. "We brought him on this tour to give him some exposure," he said. "We started a policy to take young players with us since we do not have international a cricket in Pakistan because then they can learn from being around the squad."

Only because Junaid Khan's thigh wound had not healed and Umar Gul's fever had not broken, was Adil was given a debut. "We didn't have any choice," Akram said. "There are a lot of injuries in our camp but Gul and Junaid were our first choice."

Circumstance dictated the strength of the side Pakistan could play and it would be unfair to judge them on the performance that ensued. Their inexperience showed. In between challenging deliveries, there were too many runs offered, particularly off wide deliveries and an unacceptable number of no-balls. Hashim Amla said as much. "There were times when they bowled well but then we would often get a loose ball and we could take advantage of that," he said.

Rahat Ali showed improvement from his debut at the Wanderers, where he was both expensive and ineffective. In Centurion, he was only the former. He persisted with a length that was too full and invited the drive and could not rein it in. Adil had a better measure of the length, although he was not as quick as he had been talked up to be.

Akram was impressed with Adil's early spell, in which he claimed the wicket of Graeme Smith, but saw him taper off towards the end of the day. "He bowled well this morning even though there were a bit of nerves because of the debut," he said. "It became difficult later on, especially against players like AB de Villiers and Amla. It is never easy. Our bowlers are still learning and they will learn."

South Africa's top six have 296 matches of experience to draw from and only Mohammed Irfan looked a real threat. He did not make the batsmen play enough but he was dangerous because of his bounce. "It wasn't a bad start for the youngsters," Akram said.

He was hopeful things could only get better, especially because of the conditions. "I expected the cracks would open up by day three but I see they are opening up on day one," Akram said. "When that happens, you can't keep Saeed Ajmal out of the game. I don't expect him to do wonders on day one. Maybe later on."

For now Akram can only hope Adil pulls recovers overnight and the injuries, for which he had two explanations, don't mount. "At home, we are used to soft ground but here in South Africa, the ground is very heavy. That could be one reason," he said before placing more responsibility on the players and staff for the spate of niggles. "We really need to work on our fitness as well. I admit that."

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Could have been more ruthless - Henriques

As he walked out to bat in his first Test innings, Moises Henriques felt like his legs were made of jelly. The first-afternoon pitch looked like something that had been played on for a full five days already. R Ashwin was spinning Australia into a trance. Wickets were falling much too quickly for their liking. Plenty of fans and pundits back home had questioned the selection of Henriques, not that he was thinking about that as he walked out. Still, by the end of his innings of 68, he had silenced a few critics.

In the post-war era, only three other Australians had scored as many as Henriques on debut from No.7 or lower. Two of those men, Greg Chappell and Adam Gilchrist, went on to become legendary figures in Australian cricket. The other, Greg Matthews, had a more than handy career over the course of a decade. Of course it is much too early to judge what sort of Test player Henriques will become, but he has made a fine start. If he can add a few wickets he will be hard to budge for the rest of this tour at least.

Throughout his innings he batted with the captain Michael Clarke, who must have been impressed by the patience displayed by Henriques during his 132-ball innings and their 151-run partnership. Clarke, who in the lead-up to the match said batsmen who made a start in this series could not afford to throw it away, will be pleased with the way Henriques admonished himself after falling lbw to a sweep.

"I certainly think I had the opportunity to make it my best innings [in all cricket] but it was a little bit disappointing, I really wanted to get through the day and make sure we finished five wickets down," Henriques said. "I could have been a little bit more ruthless at the end. But if someone said you're going to have 60-odd on debut I'd take it."

He didn't try to copy Clarke's nimble-footed approach against the spinners but he benefited from his captain's ability to throw Ashwin and his colleagues off their rhythm. Henriques said Ashwin had been a handful but he believed the pitch would also offer some assistance for Australia's fast men, given that Ishant Sharma and Bhuvneshwar Kumar both found some reverse swing as the day wore on.

"He [Ashwin] is a little bit taller and puts some really good work on the ball, the ball is fizzing and can bounce or not bounce, or spin or not spin," Henriques said. "But the other [spinners] are still really disciplined. It wasn't their day today but guys like Harbhajan have taken 400 Test wickets and come day three or four when the wicket is really starting to play some tricks, they're certainly going to come to the game.

"[There was] not much seam movement or anything like that but both their quicks were getting it to reverse and I think with our quicks they'll probably penetrate the wicket a little bit more than what those guys did. Hopefully with guys like Jimmy [Pattinson] and Peter [Siddle] and Mitch [Starc] with a little bit more airspeed, there [will be] reverse swing. The key with reverse swing is to try to bowl to new batsmen with it and be smart with your fields."

Henriques batted on a surface that threw up clouds of dust whenever the players kicked away a stone, and it will only become much more difficult to bat on as the match progresses. Australia reached 316 for 7 at stumps and if Clarke and the tail-enders can push the total up towards 400 on the second day, India might have their work cut out for them.

"The footmarks and the loose ground out there is something like a three-day wicket," Henriques said. "Even back home in Australia you wouldn't see that on day three or four. To have that loose soil out there, come days four and five the ball's going to start playing some tricks."

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Shafayat ton rescues Tuskers

Mountaineers 475 for 7 (Lamb 157, Maruma 105*) and 13 for 0 drew with Tuskers 298 (Shafayat 67, Nyumbu 65) and f/o 312 (Shafayat 152, Williams 83)
Scorecard

Tuskers, helped by a defiant century by Bilal Shafayat, held Mountaineers for a draw after following on at Mutare Sports Club. Trailing by 134 runs at the start of the fourth day, Tuskers faced a tough task of saving the match with seven wickets in hand. They lost overnight batsman off the fifth over of the morning, but Shafayat and Sean Williams forged a 143-run partnership that helped the Tuskers clear the deficit. Shafayat carried on after the fall of William's wicket and completed his second century in as many matches. By the time he was out, he had helped Tuskers use almost the entire quota of the day.

Mountaineers had chosen to bat in a bid to get close to Tuskers in the points table and declared their innings after scoring 475 on the second day at a healthy rate of 3.50. Greg Lamb and Timcyen Maruma scored centuries while Kevin Kasuza and Kudzai Sauramba chipped in with half-centuries.

It was Shafayat who held together Tuskers in the first innings too with a half-century, but Mountaineers bowlers struck regularly and had reduced Tuskers to 223 for 9. Some late resistance by No. 11 Jason Nyumbu, who scored 65, helped Tuskers to get close to 300. Shingi Masakadza and Maruma shared four wickets each.

Tuskers maintained their unbeaten record in the competition and are placed at the top with 35 points, six ahead of Mountaineers.

Mashonaland Eagles 352 (Kondo 98, Mupariwa 4-61) and 384 for 8 (Matsikenyeri 77, Munyaradzi 5-45) drew with Southern Rocks 427 (Masvaure 94, Pardoe 90)
Scorecard

Mashonaland Eagles scored over 300 runs on the last day of their match against Southern Rocks, but it was the Rocks who took one point form the drawn match because of their first-innings lead.

Once the Eagles chose to bat, opener Keith Kondo anchored the innings, after they lost two quick wickets, with 98. He was accompanied by Stuart Matsikenyeri who made 76. Scores in forties from Sikandar Raza and Forster Mutizwa from the middle order took them past 350 after Tawanda Mupariwa took four wickets.

Rocks had a similar innings when they were struggling at 26 for 3 and were steered to safety by opener Matthew Pardoe. After he also got out in the nineties, Richmond Mumtumbami (76), Prince Masvaure (94) and Trevor Garwe (75) made sure they got a first innings lead of 75 runs.

With more than a day to spare, Rocks would have fancied a chance of dismissing the Eagles again but six out of their top seven batsmen contributed with useful scores which ended the match in a draw. The Rocks are second from the bottom with 15 points while the Eagles are at the bottom with only one point.

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Unplayable Finn lays platform for England

25 overs New Zealand 67 for 5 (Finn 2-6) v England
Scorecard

If occasionally knocking over the bowler's end bails can be deemed a weakness, it is the only blemish against Steven Finn at the moment. His new, shorter, run up is designed to address that issue and it has taken none of the pace and aggression away from him, qualities which again were too good for the New Zealand top order as England got on top in the series decider.

Finn's early aggression created another crawl through the Powerplay before a run out blunted New Zealand's recovery through Ross Taylor and Grant Elliot. When Taylor cut at Stuart Broad and got a toe-end to the keeper, England had sight of a long tail.

The pitch, a drop-in surface, hard and flat, was tailor-made for Finn and his opening over showed he was in his element on a bright, warm day in Auckland. BJ Watling faced him like a schoolchild in his first adult net session. He only lasted four of his balls. The first delivery whistled past his shoulder, the second jagged back sharply, the third seamed away beating the outside edge and the fourth was fended to second slip as Watling was beaten for pace.

Finn's opening five overs were unplayable. They went for just five runs, one of them a wide. He found plenty of bounce and moved the new ball both ways. His second wicket was reward for his probing of Hamish Rutherford. He had tried several times to get Finn away through point but failed to find the necessary timing. He gleefully accepted the chance to hit a much wider delivery outside off - the worst Finn had sent down - and, in his eagerness, nicked it to the wicketkeeper.

The over was the second of consecutive wicket maidens as New Zealand made another limp effort of the opening Powerplay. Returns of 33 for 1 in Hamilton and 21 for 2 in Napier were trumped by 18 for 3 from the first 10 overs here.

James Anderson was a little more workable. He overpitched to Kane Williamson, who drove him superbly down the ground, and dropped short to Ross Taylor, who swatted him in front of square with a hook. But Anderson still only went for 12 in his first five overs and had Williamson caught behind when he uncharacteristically felt for a ball which held its line just outside off stump to take a thin edge.

New Zealand eventually began to go somewhere when the opening bowlers were removed. Though Chris Woakes and Stuart Broad bowled tight lines, neither has the nip of Anderson or the pace of Finn and they were easier to drop around and singles were generated in the circle. Taylor also drove Broad past mid on with a sign of his form from Napier.

Graeme Swann, who conceded his most expensive ODI figures in the second match, was introduced and he aided New Zealand's recovery as they worked him around and Elliot exploited a lack of turn to come down the pitch and twice drive over extra cover.

It was steady but important work but the partnership was ended in calamity at Taylor clipped to long leg and sent Elliot back having initially charged back for a second run that was on. It left New Zealand's gun pair - Taylor and Brendon McCullum - at the crease too early for their liking. McCullum's hitting will be needed if New Zealand are to get anywhere close to a defendable target. Plenty are required on probably the smallest international venue in the world. So tight are the boundaries that if it was a new ground it would not be ratified by the ICC.

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Fresh start for cricket-starved Zimbabwe

Match facts

February 22, 2013
Start time 0930 local (1330 GMT)

Big picture

Think of a match involving Zimbabwe in 2012 and you could be forgiven if you failed to recall a single one. Bizarrely, Zimbabwe played just eight internationals in total (three ODIs, four T20s and a Test), losing all, in a forgettable year. Their last one-dayer was 11 months ago, on the tour of New Zealand. They played a tri-series in South Africa in June but their victory couldn't be seen by a worldwide audience as the series was unofficial. They haven't played as a unit in an international since they limped out of the World T20 in September after two games. They were due to host Pakistan and Bangladesh but none of those tours materialised. Ironically, their current tour of the West Indies, beginning with the first of three one-day internationals in Grenada, features seven games, almost the total they played in the last 12 months. They had just one practice game, against the University of West Indies Vice Chancellor's XI, in which their batsmen found form. The lack of sufficient match practice, and, importantly, time together might be to their disadvantage as they take on West Indies.

West Indies, on the other hand, have been busy travelers, having made trips to USA, England, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Australia. Their recent form has been patchy, having lost all five one-dayers in Australia, before rounding off the tour with a big win in the one-off T20. Their batting was the biggest disappointment. Now against easier opposition, they have chosen to rest their regular captain Darren Sammy and Chris Gayle. Dwayne Bravo takes over the captaincy and he said his first task is to get the team to regroup after a tough tour and get back the winning habit. Having won the World T20, the expectations among their home fans would have skyrocketed.

Form guide

West Indies LLLLL
Zimbabwe LLLWL

In the spotlight

Ramnaresh Sarwan was recalled for the Australia tour after 18 months, but failed to perform in the three opportunities he got. He was retained for the one-dayers against Zimbabwe and in absence of Gayle and Sammy, he will look to make the most of this second chance. It couldn't have been easy for Sarwan, fitting back in to the same environment which gave him negative vibes. Water has passed under the bridge and Sarwan is happy to be back in the set up, having overcome the mental barriers that pulled him down. He smashed 90 for the Vice Chancellor's XI on Wednesday. His best is yet to come.

Vusi Sibanda has started off the tour well, cracking 147 off 114 balls before retiring out in the warm-up match. An attacking batsman, Sibanda hasn't been a consistent scorer, with an underwhelming average of 23.93 for an opener. His record against West Indies is relatively better against other teams - 447 runs with four fifties.

Team news

Denesh Ramdin returns to the side as the wicketkeeper after Devon Thomas was dropped after an ordinary tour of Australia with the bat.

West Indies (probable) 1 Johnson Charles, 2 Kieran Powell, 3 Darren Bravo, 4 Ramnaresh Sarwan, 5 Kieron Pollard, 6 Dwayne Bravo (capt), 7 Andre Russell, 8 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 9 Kemar Roach, 10 Tino Best, 11 Sunil Narine

Zimbabwe (from) Brendan Taylor (capt), Hamilton Masakadza, Vusi Sibanda, Tino Mawoyo, Kyle Jarvis, Tendai Chatara, Chris Mpofu, Prosper Utseya, Regis Chakabva, Malcolm Waller, Keegan Meth, Craig Ervine, Chamu Chibhabha, Tino Mutombodzi, Natsai M'shangwe

Stats and trivia

• West Indies and Zimbabwe have not played each other in an ODI at St Georges.
• The teams last met in a bilateral series in the West Indies in 2010. West Indies took the five-match series 4-1 after losing the first match.
• Zimbabwe have played 21 ODIs in all in the West Indies, winning four and losing 15.

Quotes

"Cricket is played on the day and if we don't do the right things, Zimbabwe are going to beat us."
Dwayne Bravo, the West Indies captain, warns against complacency.

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Australia calm despite Hyderabad blasts

Cricket Australia has denied reports the team will refuse to travel to Hyderabad for next week's second Test after bombings in the city on Thursday night. The two blasts, which killed at least 11 people, came on the eve of the first Test in Chennai and nine days out from the second Test in Hyderabad.

Although it is too early to determine whether the second Test will be shifted to a different venue, some news reports on Indian television on Thursday night suggested the Australian team would not travel to Hyderabad after the bombings. However, a CA team spokesperson said those reports were not true and it was premature to discuss any such move.

"We're aware of the unfortunate incident in Hyderabad," a Cricket Australia team spokesperson said. "The safety of the squad is of paramount importance and the Australian team management and CA staff are liaising with the BCCI, local authorities and Australian High Commission to ensure we have all the appropriate information. To date, we have no information to suggest there is any threat to the team in Chennai as a result of this incident."

The two blasts hit the Dilsukhnagar region of Hyderabad about ten minutes apart and it was believed more than 50 people were injured, on top of the confirmed fatalities. India's prime minister Manmohan Singh labelled the bombings "a dastardly attack".

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