McClenaghan added to New Zealand Test squad

New Zealand and Auckland left-arm seamer Mitchell McClenaghan will stay back in South Africa for the two-match Test series starting January 2. McClenaghan replaces Tim Southee, who was ruled out last week due to a thumb injury.

McClenaghan, 26, played the two Twenty20 internationals on the current tour, picking up a wicket in each game. "With Tim Southee's injury and Mark Gillespie being unavailable due to injury we have taken the opportunity to add Mitchell McClenaghan to the Test squad for the two match series against South Africa," New Zealand coach Mike Hesson said. "Mitchell has been an impressive performer over the past couple of domestic seasons and deserves this opportunity following a promising start to International Cricket during the T20 series in South Africa.

"Mitchell is a talented and exciting young fast bowler who has the ability to unsettle batsmen with his pace and bounce. We are confident if the opportunity arises during the tour he will perform well during the Test series."

McClenaghan has played 26 first-class matches, collecting 76 wickets at 39.03. This Plunket Shield season, he's played four matches and taken 14 wickets at 34.85. He said his raw pace was an asset. "I can definitely feel like I can bowl a good spell of heat and hopefully put them on the back foot."

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We were 10-15 runs short - Dhoni

India were 10 to 15 runs short of a "safe" total against Pakistan in the first Twenty20 international, according to their captain MS Dhoni. India's openers put on 77 runs inside 11 overs to give the hosts a solid base but Pakistan struck regularly after that, as India collapsed to finish on 133 for 9.

"We should have got more runs," Dhoni said. "We got a fantastic start from the openers but we couldn't capitalise. We lost regular wickets and that hurt us. We should have got 10-15 runs more, 145 would have been a safe score."

India began superbly with the ball as the debutant Bhuvneshwar Kumar picked up three wickets but fifties from the Pakistan captain Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik set the platform for the visitors' five-wicket win. India's quick bowlers picked up all five Pakistan wickets to fall, but the part-time bowlers conceded 75 runs in 7.4 overs as Malik's six off Ravindra Jadeja in the final over ended the game. Dhoni used up his fast bowlers by the 19th over, and had to bring on Jadeja for the 20th.

"It was a gamble to finish the pacers early," Dhoni said. "Malik and Hafeez were going well so we needed wickets. They were also going at a very fast pace so we had to take a gamble. The pacers did well, they left 10 runs for the last over which I thought was good."

Malik said Pakistan were struggling when Bhuvneshwar struck early but credited Hafeez for playing a "brilliant innings." Hafeez said once the India spinners came on, Pakistan knew they had a chance. He also praised his bowlers for bringing Pakistan back into the game.

"We wanted to do well at the start of the series," Hafeez said. "[Mohammad] Irfan was the surprise package for us and everybody. We knew we had a good attack. We knew that [Umar] Gul is always good with the old ball. They restricted India where we wanted them to. Once the [India] spinners came on after the new ball, we knew we had a chance, we took a risk at the right time and it worked. It is a gift for the whole nation. It is Quaid day back home."

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Malik and Hafeez guide Pakistan to victory

Pakistan 134 for 5 (Hafeez 61, Malik 57*) beat India 133 for 9 (Gambhir 43, Rahane 42, Gul 3-21) by five wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Two of Pakistan's experienced hands guided them to victory in their first game in almost three months, and their first bilateral tour of India in five years. An early burst from debutant Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who began his international career with a fabulous display of swing bowling, rattled the Pakistan top order but the calm presence of Mohammad Hafeez and some enterprising batting from Shoaib Malik put a chase of 134 back on track.

Pakistan had another scare at the death, losing two in quick time when victory appeared secure, but Malik ultimately saw them through in the final over, sealing the game with a six. The hosts were a specialist bowler short, as the Pakistan pair targeted the non-regulars, but a more significant factor in India's loss was their implosion with the bat, when they lost nine wickets for 47 runs in 46 balls.

A 36,000-strong crowd had been silenced during an impressive display of bowling backed up by some excellent ground fielding that had helped Pakistan fight back after India's openers had laid a strong foundation in an attractive stand of 77 in under 11 overs. The decibel levels at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, however, hit their peak when Bhuvneshwar swung it this way and that, setting up two of this three victims with outswingers before nipping one back in to dismantle the stumps. At 12 for 3, Pakistan were reeling; their rebuilding was steady, and resulted in 24 boundary-less deliveries, but Hafeez and Malik pounced in at the right time.

Virat Kohli was one of the part-timers used by India, and Hafeez slogged him for two boundaries in the 11th over, at the start of which the required-rate had hit almost nine an over. Yuvraj Singh dragged the ball too short on occasion and was heaved for two sixes by the pair and they each stepped out to Ravindra Jadeja to dispatch him for maximums over his head.

The return of India's seamers didn't immediately check Pakistan, as the equation was brought down to 16 off the last three overs, but Ishant Sharma dismissed Hafeez and conceded just two in an over in which he had Malik caught off a no-ball for height. Ashok Dinda was given the penultimate over and he left Pakistan needing 10 off the last, which Malik helped achieve with a straight six off a Jadeja length delivery to win with two balls to spare.

Ajinkya Rahane's supreme timing was the feature of India's opening partnership, as he lofted Pakistan's bowlers over extra cover effortlessly, though they hit back after he fell upper-cutting to third man. Umar Gul and Saeed Ajmal were the architects of that comeback, after being struck for sixes in their respective opening overs. Gul was smashed over midwicket by Gambhir, but had Yuvraj Singh caught in the deep off a slower ball in his new spell before removing two in two towards the death. Ajmal was carted over extra cover by Rahane, but returned to dismiss MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina with quicker deliveries at a time when India would have backed themselves to reach a score of around or above 150.

Gambhir had started picking up the pace but was caught short of the crease when attempting a second run in the 13th over. Sohail Tanvir returned a throw on the half-volley to Kamran Akmal, who collected well and dislodged the stumps. Kohli and Yuvraj began well but fell trying to heave the seamers over square leg - left-arm fast bowler Mohammad Irfan got rid of Kohli to bag his first international wicket.

Ajmal's tricks against Dhoni and Raina, and the early run-out of Rohit Sharma, sent back by a direct hit from the deep, transformed India's game from one aimed at an aggressive charge to mere survival. India scored just one boundary in the last six overs, their early advantage was squandered and not even a dream debut that produced a spell of 4-0-9-3 could restore it completely.

Innings Dot balls 4s 6s Powerplay 16-20 overs NB/Wides India 48 9 3 37-0 18-5 0/3 Pakistan 57 10 5 22-3 24-2 (19.4) 1/3

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Sangakkara hits 10,000 but Sri Lanka wobble

Lunch Sri Lanka 3 for 79 (Sangakkara 43*, Samaraweera 10*) v Australia
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Kumar Sangakkara became the second Sri Lankan to reach the 10,000-run milestone in Tests but there was little else for Sri Lanka to celebrate in the first session on Boxing Day at the MCG as Australia's fast bowlers all made breakthroughs. Mahela Jayawardene won the toss and chose to bat and at lunch Sri Lanka were 3 for 79, and were relying heavily on Sangakkara, who was unbeaten on 40, while Thilan Samaraweera was on 10.

Sangakkara brought up his 10,000th run in the final over before lunch with a square drive for four off Mitchell Johnson and a hug from Samaraweera and a round of applause from the Australian players followed. Sangakkara was the equal fastest to the milestone, reaching it in his 195th Test innings, the same as Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara, and one innings quicker than Ricky Ponting.

Sangakkara began cautiously and had 12 from 36 balls when he decided to take on Johnson's fuller deliveries, driving him for three consecutive boundaries. It was an encouraging counter-attack from Sangakkara after Sri Lanka struggled to 3 for 37 in the 13th over.

Australia's debutant Jackson Bird struck in his second over with the new ball when he angled a ball across the left-hander Dimuth Karunaratne (5) and nipped it away off the seam, and the thick edge was snapped up by the wicketkeeper Matthew Wade. Bird was very impressive in his initial Test spells, hitting a nagging line and length and offering few scoring opportunities for the batsmen.

More runs came off Johnson, but he also picked up an important wicket when Tillakaratne Dilshan stood flat-footed and tried to heave a delivery from just outside off stump through the leg side. Dilshan, on 11 at the time, succeeded only in inside-edging the ball back onto his stumps and it was a particularly ugly dismissal for a man who was fresh from a century in the first Test in Hobart.

Peter Siddle also broke through when Jayawardene, who had been tied down, drove at a ball that moved away slightly and edged behind for 3 from 26 balls. It was a fine start for the Australians, who were led by Michael Clarke after he was passed fit having suffered a hamstring injury while batting in the first Test in Hobart.

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Punjab take lead, need 231 to win

Punjab 268 (Uday Kaul 93, Mandeep 66, Sidhana 50) need 231 runs to beat Gujarat 266 and 232 (Juneja 79, Ladda 4-112)
Scorecard

Punjab gave themselves a chance of winning their fifth game of the season - no side has won more than two - but before that, Uday Kaul gave them the first-innings lead as he added 31 with the last man Sarabjit Ladda. Punjab began the day on 227 for 7, still well behind Gujarat's 266. They were 237 for 9 when Ladda, playing his first first-class game in two years, joined Kaul, who pushed Punjab to 268 before falling to Rush Kalaria on 93. Ladda then picked up four wickets as Gujarat, on the lookout for quick runs to try and force a result, were dismissed for 232. Manprit Juneja led the way with 79, but he had little support. It was left to Kalaria's unbeaten 33 to drag Gujarat from 148 for 7 to set Punjab a chase of 231 on the final day.

Mumbai 304 and 192 for 5 (Jaffer 67) lead Madhya Pradesh 244 (Choudhary 76, Harpreet 50) by 252 runs
Scorecard

Mumbai took the first-innings lead in Indore against Madhya Pradesh but slowed down considerably in their second innings despite desperately needing to push for an outright win. Ajit Agarkar struck early in the morning to remove Satyam Choudhary when MP resumed on 191 for 5 but Harpreet Singh and Ankit Sharma resisted. Abhishek Nayar, as he has done through the season, delivered the crucial wicket of Harpreet, bowling him with an inswinger which the batsman left alone. A couple of poor decisions brought the end of the MP innings on 244, giving Mumbai a lead of 60. With Kaustubh Pawar steady at one end, Aditya Tare and then Wasim Jaffer made quick runs, but Mumbai got stuck after the duo fell. Hiken Shah took 75 balls to make 18 and Suryakumar Yadav 28 to make 5. Ishwar Pandey was again among the wickets after his six-for in the first innings.

Hyderabad 337 and 130 for 6 (Karan 3-59) lead Railways 213 (Shinde 5-78) by 254 runs
Scorecard

Fourteen wickets went down in Hyderabad as Railways collapsed from a strong position and Hyderabad limped past 100 in their second innings. Railways, on 145 for 2 at the start of the day, were dealt twin blows by Ashish Reddy, who dismissed the captain Sanjay Bangar and Nitin Bhille. Offspinner Amol Shinde took over after that, taking five of the remaining six wickets as Railways crumbled to 213. Hyderabad had a big lead in the bag, but it was now the turn of the Railways spinners. Karan Sharma and Murali Kartik took five wickets between them after Anureet Singh struck with the second ball of the Hyderabad innings. Hyderabad closed on 130 for 6, but their overall lead was a healthy 254.

Saurashtra 228 (Makvana 54, Jackson 54, Pankaj 5-61) and 11 for 0 need another 295 runs to beat Rajasthan 299 and 234 for 9 dec (Chouhan 76, Saxena 65)
Scorecard

Pankaj Singh's 17th five-wicket haul in 67 first-class games helped Rajasthan take a decent lead against Suarashtra and fifties from Sourabh Chouhan and Vineet Saxena gave the visitors a target of 306 in Jaipur. Saurashtra began on 213 for 7 in reply to Rajasthan's 299 and Pankaj needed less than four overs to dismiss the remaining three batsmen. He bowled Kamlesh Makvana for his overnight score of 54, and did the same to Sandip Maniar. Chouhan retired on 6, and Rajasthan lost the captain Hrishikesh Kanitkar for a duck when he was bowled by Maniar. First-innings centurion Ashok Menaria came in and made a breezy 46. Chouhan returned to join Saxena after Menaria fell and was seventh man out with the score on 220. Rajasthan declared on 234 for 9, and Saurashtra reached 11 for no loss at stumps.

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Famous rivalry resumes after five-year break

Match facts

December 25, 2012
Start time 1900 (1330 GMT)

	Pakistan captain Mohammad Hafeez speaks to the media ahead of the first T20 in Bangalore

Big Picture

Just the plain fact that this tour is actually happening is a gargantuan achievement for the Pakistan Cricket Board and its chairman Zaka Ashraf. How many diplomatic and political channels must have been traversed, how many meetings arranged and attended, how many people cajoled and persuaded, and how many prayers said in the hope that nothing goes wrong at the last moment. Well, Pakistan are finally here, on Indian soil, for their first bilateral tour in five years. It does not matter that it is apologetically short, it does not matter that it is barely squeezed between the two legs of England's India visit. Thank heavens to Christmas then, for ensuring a gap existed in the first place for the two Twenty20 internationals and three ODIs to be sneaked in.

The rivalry needs no introduction. In the earlier part of the previous decade, the historic Indian tour of Pakistan in 2003-04 - after another five-year break in ties - heralded a surfeit of bilateral series to the extent the rivalry began to feel a bit jaded. Since 2007, or more pertinently, since the Mumbai attacks of 2008, fans have had to rely on crumbs - a Champions Trophy game in 2009, a couple of Asia Cup matches, a World Cup semi-final in 2011, and a World Twenty20 clash in 2012.

MS Dhoni might say it is just another series but it isn't. Privately for the players, and openly for the fans, India v Pakistan will always be a coming together of shared history, culture, language, fear, hopes, love, hatred. India v Pakistan will always convert a neutral venue into a sea of flags of the two countries. India v Pakistan will always do strange things to players; it will drain flair out of those who have it, and it will inject flair into those who haven't had it till then, and won't have it thereafter. India v Pakistan will always make temporary fans out of people who run away from cricket otherwise.

Too much cricket? Underperforming Indian team? No Sachin Tendulkar? All valid concerns and worries. But come the first ball in Bangalore on Tuesday evening, few will be able to resist watching.

Form guide (Completed games, most recent first)

India LWWWL
Pakistan LWLWW

In the spotlight

The last time these sides met, in the World Twenty20 in Colombo, a hesitant Mohammad Hafeez set the stage for a dull performance from Pakistan. The captain, having chosen to bat, made a 28-ball 15, defending and defending without intent. Hafeez's approach continued when Pakistan fielded, diffidence replacing his usual pro-active, snappy self. It had to be the pressure of an India-Pakistan game, for in their next match against Australia, Pakistan were back to playing aggressive, stirring cricket. How will Hafeez cope this time?

Virat Kohli is one young Indian batsman many Pakistani fans admire and despise in equal measure. The man is brash, but he gets the runs. He swears, but he is dependable. He's played a couple of match-winning innings against them already, including the outstanding 183 in the Asia Cup earlier this year in Dhaka.

Stats and Trivia

• This will be the first T20 to be played between the two sides in India.
• Pakistan have played four bilateral limited-overs series in India, and have won two.

Quotes

"We want him to stay at the peak. We don't want to put too much pressure on him. At the same time, other bowlers also have to take wickets to give confidence to him."
Mohammad Hafeez on Saeed Ajmal

"T20 is slightly different. You have to be a bit unorthodox and try a few different things. It is different from the longer format. So I think a few games will give us time to get into the groove."
MS Dhoni

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Revamped tournament aims to generate interest

Pakistan cricket history is as old as the country itself. The Quaid-e-Azam trophy - the country's premier first-class competition - has been a testing ground for cricketers in the domestic circuit since 1953. This year, 14 teams including Bahawalpur will compete in a newly revamped structure and is a chance for players to impress ahead of Pakistan's South Africa tour in January 2013.

The new structure promises improved competition among evenly-matched teams. The new regional teams are allowed to recruit five players from the old department sides, of whom four can be part of the playing XI. The 14 regional teams have been divided into two groups of seven, with top four teams from each group progressing to the super-eights while the remaining six would be playing in the plate league. The league toppers will contest in their respective league finals. Either way, each team will at least play eight matches apart from the final

In a bid to give bowlers exposure to internationally-recognised cricket balls, the board has also made the use of Kookaburra balls mandatory for the tournament.

Such measures have been taken by the board to revive national interest in the first-class game. Cricket is the most popular sport in Pakistan, but that interest seldom trickles beyond international matches - a far cry from the eighties and nineties when fans used to regularly flock the venues to watch players like Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, etc. practice in the nets.

Team previews

Karachi Whites and Karachi Blues

Karachi is Pakistan's biggest and the most successful regional cricket association having won the trophy 19 times. The city has two teams in the competition - Whites and Blues. The Whites are led by fast bowler Mohammad Sami and boast of prolific batsmen like Fawad Alam, Asad Shafiq, Khalid Latif and Saeed Bin Nasir. The Blues, captained by former Test batsman Faisal Iqbal, have a promising fast-bowling line-up with Tanvir Ahmed, Tabish Khan and Anwar Ali.

The Whites, more successful of the two teams with a hat-trick of titles between 1990 and 1992-93, won their last title in 2002 and last year, finished third in Division 2, while the Blues were led to their eighth title by Sami in 2009.

Bahawalpur

After a successful debut in this season's Faysal Bank T20 Cup, Bahawalpur are all set to make a return to first-class cricket after nearly a decade. Bahawalpur were the winners of the inaugural Quaid-e-Azam trophy in 1953 when they beat Punjab in the final. They won their second title in 1958. During the 200304 overhaul of domestic cricket, Bahawalpur were merged with the Multan region.

Rehan Rafiq, an opening batsman who has played for WAPDA and Habib Bank in the absence of his native regional team, will lead the Bahawalpur side this season. The squad is relatively inexperienced and the team mainly relies on veteran allrounder Bilal Khilji, seamers Kamran Hussain and Mohamamd Talha.

Sialkot

A renowned Twenty20 side, Sialkot won the 2005-06 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Golden League. Though they failed to defend their title the following year, they came hard to clinch it again in 2009.

The combination of 20 players is centered on left-arm batsman Haris Sohail, who made 673 runs at 134.60 with four hundreds in the President Trophy for Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited. He was rewarded with a national call-up when the selectors chose him in the ODI squad for the India tour. Left-arm fast bowler Naved Arif, who immigrated to England last year, has returned to play for his native domestic side as an overseas player.

Left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman, who has been serving a 12-week ban after testing positive for cannabis during his stint with Somerset, is back in action. Another promising left-arm spinner Raza Hasan was left out due to his career-threatening spine injury, which had also ruled out him from the ongoing tour of India.

Rawalpindi

It is always difficult to see a Rawalpindi side without Mohammad Amir and the dashing Mohammad Wasim but life goes on. A hugely talented side, Awais Zia, Umar Amin and Mohammad Nawaz are the spirit of the team now. Rawalpindi perhaps never were the favorites and have never won the title but the region is always busy in producing quality players for the national level.

Umar Waheed, a promising middle-order batsman from the Under-19 circuit will kick off his first-class career this year while all-rounder Nawaz will have to shift gears after his showing for Pakistan U-19s last year. Zia, who has been desperately waiting for the trophy to start, is ready to take flight. Amin has already asserted his case in the President Trophy. He was the leading run-scorer, with 767 in nine matches at 45.11 and will be put through another test ahead of the South Africa tour.

Lahore Shalimar

It has been more than ten years now since Lahore -believed to be the biggest nursery for national cricketers in the country - won a national title. The last time was in 2001. Like Karachi, Lahore also have two teams. They had a poor season last year, finishing second-last in Division Two, and managed to win only one match against Multan, who were glued tightly to the bottom with zero points. Shalimar suffered seven defeats with one drawn game against a depleted Quetta side.

This year, they start their campaign after losing key players to the national side for the India tour, leaving Shalimar with the inexperienced lot. In the absence of Mohammad Hafeez, Umar Akmal, Kamran Akmal and Wahab Riaz, Shalimar will have to rely on the veteran batsman Mohammad Yousuf. Along with fast bowler Aizaz Cheema, Zia-ul-Haq and Mohammad Irfan will be the core of the bowling attack.

Peshawar

Peshawar have retained the core of the side that beat Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited in the final of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Division Two last year. They were the underdogs but finished unbeaten in the division and were supposed to be promoted to Division One if the same structure had been followed this year.

Peshawar are mainly centered on their batsmen Akbar Badshah and Mohammad Fayyaz, who were the second and third-leading run-getters in their division. Adding Israrullah to the mix makes it a formidable batting line-up. Their bowling attack is dominated by fast bowlers such as Imran Khan, the President Trophy's third-leading wicket-taker, and Waqar Ahmed, who picked up 60 wickets last year for Peshawar.

This year, they are entering the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy with a reputation to carry on. They are certainly the favorites on paper and look good to finish among the top teams before going into the super-eight. They have earlier won the national championship in 1998-99 and 2004-05.

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Showpiece for hosts, last chance for tourists

Match facts

December 26-30, MCG
Start time 1030 (2330 GMT)

Big Picture

Australian cricket's biggest day conjures up plenty of memories for the hosts, but only one painful recollection for the visitors. The MCG on Boxing Day was the scene of Darrell Hair's fateful decision to call Muttiah Muralitharan for throwing, in a match that finished in a comfortable 10-wicket victory for Mark Taylor's Australians. Back then, the result was entirely overshadowed by anger surrounding Hair's decision, and the bitterness it engendered was to infect the rest of the tour. This time around there is no such issue burning away, though the ball tampering allegations that marked the latter stages of the Bellerive Oval match provided a reminder that Australia and Sri Lanka seldom oppose one another without something rancorous cropping up.

Pushed into the final hour by Mahela Jayawardene's tourists before claiming victory in Hobart, Australia seek a series win to conclude a year that has been moderately successful if not overwhelmingly so. They remain a team in development, and will take on an even more transitional look on Boxing Day should Michael Clarke not recover from a hamstring strain in time. His absence would hand the captaincy to Shane Watson, while opening the way for Usman Khawaja's recall. The bowling attack has already been re-shaped, Mitchell Johnson and the debutant Jackson Bird shuffling into the spaces left by Ben Hilfenhaus (injured) and Mitchell Starc (unhappily rested).

The Sri Lankans must defy a history of Test match underachievement in Australia if they are to keep the series alive. They have never won a five-day encounter down under, though in Hobart they came close to securing a stalemate. Melbourne and Sydney will afford the visitors pitches more useful to their cause than Hobart proved to be, with Rangana Herath a considerable threat on surfaces offering even a modicum of turn. The greater question for Sri Lanka will be which pacemen can step up to provide wicket-taking support - the lack of an effective pace spearhead has been the overwhelming reason behind their lack of a victory on these shores.

Form guide

(Most recent first)
Australia WLDDW
Sri Lanka LLWDD

In the spotlight

Even if Shane Watson does not walk out to toss the coin on the first morning, he will be expected to contribute more substantially in this Test than either of the previous two. So far since his return from injury, Watson has looked a little out of sorts as a batsman, yet to go past 30 in four innings and struggling notably with Herath at Bellerive. Nonetheless, there were signs in Hobart that Watson is growing into more of a leader - his longer-than-usual bowling stints after Hilfenhaus was injured were critical to Australia's ultimate success, even if the wickets column did not suggest it. Having played an undersung role in that result, Watson will now want his name in lights. A Boxing Day century, his first in Tests since 2010, would do that nicely.

In his final series as captain, Mahela Jayawardene dearly wants to leave a Test match mark in Australia. The current outfit is doughty and persistent, but require an influential score by their leader in Melbourne to put Australia under the requisite pressure to push for victory. There are suggestions Jayawardene may have been distracted by a board dispute in recent days, while the ball tampering episode in Hobart indicated that this is a touring team that does not wish to go quietly. Having overcome all manner of squabbles and snares over his career, Jayawardene's capacity to cope is well known. He has the Melbourne Test, and its expected influx of Sri Lankan supporters, to give Australia some headaches.

Team news

Clarke's fitness remains the major question for Australia, and it appears more likely he will be saved for future contests rather than carrying a tender hamstring into the Test. Bird is set to debut as the owner of handsome records for Tasmania in Sheffield Shield cricket in general and at the MCG in particular.

Australia 1 Ed Cowan, 2 David Warner, 3 Phillip Hughes, 4 Shane Watson, 5 Michael Clarke/Usman Khawaja, 6 Michael Hussey, 7 Matthew Wade (wk), 8 Mitchell Johnson, 9 Peter Siddle, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Jackson Bird.

The tourists appear likely to enter the match unchanged from their Hobart combination, though Dhammika Prasad is on standby for Nuwan Kulasekara, who is still sore after a blow to the ribs in Hobart.

Sri Lanka (probable) 1 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 2 Dimuth Karunaratne, 3 Kumar Sangakkara, 4 Mahela Jayawardene (capt), 5 Thilan Samaraweera, 6 Angelo Mathews, 7 Prasanna Jayawardene (wk), 8 Nuwan Kulasekara, 9 Rangana Herath, 10 Shaminda Eranga, 11 Chanaka Welegedara.

Pitch and conditions

Melbourne's weather is forecast to be pleasantly temperate for the week, while the pitch is also on course to be even tempered, if a little lively early on. The ground's new head curator David Sandurski has likened the Test strip to that played on by Victoria and South Australia in a November Shield fixture, in which the left-arm paceman Gary Putland plucked 12 wickets but Phillip Hughes cracked 158 on his way back to the national team.

Stats and trivia

• Sri Lanka's one previous Boxing Day visit to the MCG resulted in a 10-wicket defeat in 1995 - infamous as the match in which Muttiah Muralitharan was called for throwing by the umpire Darrell Hair
• If passed fit, Michael Clarke needs another 55 runs to better Ricky Ponting's Australian record for most runs in a calendar year
• Kumar Sangakkara enters the match 40 short or passing 10,000 Test runs

Quotes

"It's improving every day. I did a fair bit of running today in the indoor nets. A decision can't be made today. I really need to wait and see how I pull up tomorrow morning."
Michael Clarke on his problematic hamstring

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All-round Murtaza puts UP in control

Tamil Nadu 149 for 6 (Vijay 42, Murtaza 4-65) trail Uttar Pradesh 392 (Murtaza 106, Prashant Gupta 57) by 243 runs
Scorecard

Ali Murtaza scored a century at No.8 and took four wickets to put Uttar Pradesh in a strong position against Tamil Nadu at the Chemplast Ground in Chennai. Tamil Nadu were struggling at 149 for 6 in the face of UP's 392. Resuming on 279 for 6, the UP lower order resisted thanks to Murtaza, who added 120 with Prashant Gupta. Murtaza hit ten fours and three sixes in his 106, before he was dismissed by the offspinner Malolan Rangarajan, who took four wickets. The Tamil Nadu top order made starts but couldn't carry on, and the hosts had lost half their side for 128.

Maharashtra 131 for 3 (Khadiwale 69*) trail Baroda 362 (Waghmode 113, Devdhar 104, Mundhe 4-72) by 231 runs
Scorecard

Centuries by Aditya Waghmode and Kedar Devdhar helped Baroda to 362 and in reply Maharashtra lost three wickets but ended the day on a steady note. Devdhar, unbeaten on 104 overnight, didn't add to his score when he was run-out by Akshay Darekar. Waghmode went on to score 113 before he was caught behind off Samad Fallah. Shrikant Mundhe wrapped up the innings to finish with 4 for 72. Maharashtra lost three wickets by the 25th over, but the opener Harshad Khadiwale ensured some stability with an unbeaten 69, with Ankit Bawne for company.

Vidarbha 206 and 64 for 2 (Ubharhande 38*) lead Odisha 121 (Niranjan Behera 28, Sandeep 4-39) by 149 runs
Scorecard

Fourteen wickets fell on the second day in Cuttack, as Odisha were sent crashing to 121 after keeping Vidarbha to 206. Vidarbha ended the opening day at 188 for 8 and could add only 18 more before being bowled out. Odisha got off to a poor start, losing their openers for ducks to the seamer Sandeep Singh. All six bowlers claimed wickets, with Sandeep finishing with 4 for 39. The highest partnership for the innings was the 35 for the fifth wicket between Natraj Behera and Govind Podder. Vidarbha gained an 85-run first-innings lead and they extended it to 149, but lost their openers, including Shiv Sunder Das, towards the end of the day.

Karnataka 11 for 0 trail Haryana 587 for 9 dec (Yadav 211, Mishra 202*, Sunny 56) by 576 runs
Scorecard

Read the report here.

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Van der Wath helps Knights to first win

A career-best 154 and a match tally of five wickets by Johan van der Wath helped Knights secure an eight-wicket win in Bloemfontein, their first in the competition. The Dolphins put on a better batting performance in their second innings, but could only manage to set a target of 115, which the Knights chased easily.

The Knights did a good job keeping the Dolphins to 221 on the opening day after winning the toss. The seamers, Van der wath, Dillon du Preez and Malusi Siboto shared the wickets, with Siboto taking 4 for 37. The main batsmen failed, and it was up to the lower-order duo of Kyle Abbott and Calvin Savage to add 65 to take the score past 200. The Knights were in a spot of bother on the second day at 108 for 6, before Werner Coetsee and van der Wath compiled the highest partnership of the match. Their stand of 161 was the turning point, as it set up a healthy first-innings lead for the Knights. After Coetsee departed for 69, van der Wath got useful support from the lower order. Shadley van Schalwyk frustrated Dolphins with 80 at No.10 and there was no respite either from the No.11 Siboto, who scored 41 to stretch the lead to 277. Van der Wath smashed 19 fours and three sixes in his 154.

The Dolphins showed better resistance in the second innings, with half-centuries by Imraan Khan, Khayelihle Zondo, Daryn Smit and Abbott. The Dolphins were under pressure to save the game when they ended the penultimate day 25 behind with five wickets in hand. The lower order put on three successive fifty partnerships to keep Knights at bay, but were bowled out for 391. The Knights knocked off the required runs in under 30 overs and remained in third place.

A seven-wicket haul by the seamer Ayabulela Gqamane sent Lions crashing to 59, helping the Warriors come back from an 80-run first-innings deficit, setting up a ten-wicket win at the Wanderers. Gqamane's career-best 7 for 24 swung the game Warriors' way and the game was over after lunch on day three.

The Lions chose to bat and ended the opening day at 275 for 7, with the captain Stephen Cook scoring 95, Neil McKenzie 50 and Thami Tsolekile unbeaten on 64. Gqamane took 4 for 46, while Andrew Birch took 4 for 68 to bowl out the Lions for 315. Tsolekile remained unbeaten on 88.

The Lions spinners, Imran Tahir and Edie Leie, jolted the Warriors top order to reduce them to 118 for 5. Christiaan Jonker and Simon Harmer added 81 for the sixth wicket before Zander de Bruyn wrapped up the innings for 235, giving the Lions a lead of 80. What followed was a stunning turnaround as Gqamane ran through the line-up in 10.4 overs to finish with his maiden ten-wicket haul. Only two batsmen passed double figures in the second innings.

It left Warriors chasing 140, and they sailed home thanks to the opening pair of Davy Jacobs (84*) and Michael Price (49*).

Cape Cobras retained their position at the top of the table with a ten-wicket win over Titans at Newlands in a three-day finish. Put in to bat, the Titans were rolled over for 192 on the opening day with Justin Kemp taking 5 for 45. The Titans were struggling at 47 for 5 before David Wiese and Roelof van der Merwe scored half-centuries. The Cobras openers, Andrew Puttick and Alistair Gray nearly matched the Titans' first-innings score on their own. Their stand of 169 set the platform for a big score, and the second-wicket pair of Puttick and Stiaan van Zyl took the game further away from the Titans with a stand of 120. Puttick managed a century, but van Zyl and Gray fell short, scoring 91 and 84 respectively. Qaasim Adams and the lower order then took the score to 476 for 8 before the declaration, giving the Cobras a healthy lead of 284.

There was more trouble for the Titans at the end of the second day, losing two early wickets in the face of a huge deficit. In the third morning, things got worse when Pieter Malan edged Johann Louw to third slip. Heino Kuhn and Jacques Rudolph resisted with fifties. Louw broke their stand of 88 and dismissed the pair to finish with 5 for 89. Beuran Hendricks took 4 for 73 as the Titans finished on 301 leaving the Cobras just 18 to chase.

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