Injured Smith unlikely for Benoni decider

Graeme Smith is unlikely to play a part in the fifth and final ODI against Pakistan in Benoni on Sunday due a recurrence of an ankle injury during South Africa's defeat in the fourth ODI in Durban. Smith was unable to field for a majority of Pakistan's innings due to the injury.

"Graeme's chronic left ankle problem has surfaced again during this ODI series," Dr Mohammed Moosajee, South Africa's team manager, said. "We have been trying to manage him but unfortunately the impingement syndrome slowed him down today and he is quite symptomatic.

"As things stand, he is unlikely to play in the last ODI but we will make a final decision tomorrow (Friday). He has had surgery on this ankle a while ago and I think the load and the volume of cricket for the year, and particularly during this ODI series, has troubled him."

Smith was bowled by Junaid Khan for 12 in Pakistan's three-wicket win that levelled the series 2-2.

The selectors will decide on Friday, whether or not to name a replacement.

Read More..

Batting fightbacks on 'slow pitch' please Misbah, de Villiers

A lot of attention coming into the fourth South Africa-Pakistan ODI in Durban was centred around the pitch and subcontinental-like conditions the venue often proffers. While both captains agreed that the track was a bit slow after Pakistan's three-wicket win, South Africa's AB de Villiers said the conditions weren't that "difficult" to deal with, rather it was losing set batsmen at the wrong time that cost his team.

"The main thing was to adapt quickly and to assess the pitch conditions, it just took us a while and cost us a few wickets," de Villiers said after the match. "After about three or four overs that I faced, I got used to the pace of the deck and realised that it wasn't turning the much. It only started to turn more after about 30-35 overs, because of which the leading edges were there. There wasn't a lot of turn and was quite slow, once we got used to that started to rotating really well and we picked up a few boundaries and got the momentum on our side again."

De Villiers was left to salvage the South African innings with the injured Faf du Plessis' replacement, David Miller, after the top order was carved up by Pakistan's new-ball pair. Mohammad Irfan and Junaid Khan had the hosts gasping at 38 for 4 in 10 overs, before a 115-run stand between de Villiers and Miller them back on track. However, both batsmen were dismissed within four overs of each other on either side of the 35-over mark, denying South Africa an ideal finish.

While that proved costly for his side, de Villiers pointed out that they were dismissed by the "best bowler in the world", in Saeed Ajmal, so it was not "the end of the world". "It was very important to bat till the end. But it's part of the game, you're not going to bat 50 overs every game as an individual.

"My gameplan was to get to 45 overs, which I didn't, and I'm sure Dave too wanted to bat longer … I thought both of us batted really well, did a massive job for the team to get back into the game and to get a decent total. At one stage we were staring a low total in the eyes but we fought back well. Unfortunately I got out at a really bad time, it cost us 20 runs which would have been handy during the end of the bowling session there."

Pakistan's innings took a similar course, with a clutch of wickets going down at the start, only for captain Misbah-ul-Haq to resurrect the chase in the company of Imran Farhat. Importantly for Pakistan, Farhat stayed till the 48th over, bringing them to the very brink. Misbah had good words for him: "The ball wasn't coming at an even pace, there was a little bit of extra bounce in the second half, some balls were stopping a little bit, it wasn't easy to bat on that, but I think at the end Imran batted well. They bowled well, but we showed little bit of character and we managed to win this game."

It was a game Pakistan had to win to keep the series alive, and their chances of doing that took a blow early on as Mohammad Hafeez was out for a duck in the second over, becoming the first batsman in international cricket to be dismissed obstructing the field under the new laws. While Misbah accepted that the decision ultimately lay with the umpires, he said Hafeez's reaction suggested he did not wilfully change course while running to get in the way of de Villiers' throw.

"He was just running in line, trying to shorten the length," Misbah said. "He wasn't looking behind when AB threw the ball, so what he was suggesting was it wasn't intentional because he didn't know where the ball was thrown [from]. But in the end, it was the umpire's call."

Read More..

Chanderpaul thrives on 'pretty tough day'

West Indies might have piled up a 206-run lead against Zimbabwe by the end of the second day in Dominica, but the pitch remains a tough one to bat on, according to Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who scored his 28th Test century on the day.

"It was a pretty tough day, hard work. You could see it was not an easy wicket to bat on," Chanderpaul said after play. "The ball was bouncing and turning a lot, and you had to really dig in Some of the balls were bouncing, some were keeping low, you weren't always certain what the ball would do so you had to stay watchful and patient, and wait on the bad balls."

And stay patient Chanderpaul did, compiling 108 at a strike-rate of 38 in significant stands with Chris Gayle - who also scored a hundred - and Denesh Ramdin, who made 86. It was Chanderpaul's third score of over 100 in five Test innings, following scores of 203 not out and 150 not out on the tour to Bangladesh late last year.

Chanderpaul had to come out as early as the second ball of the day, after overnight batsman Marlon Samuels was bowled for 26 off the first delivery by a splendid Tendai Chatara yorker. "I was just about to sit and watch some cricket and Marlon got a good first ball," Chanderpaul laughed. "There wasn't much he could have done about it, it was a real beauty. He's pretty upset about it, that he missed out; hopefully we don't bat again but if he gets an opportunity again he'll want to cash in."

Given West Indies' big lead and the impact the spinners have been having - Zimbabwe lost eight of ten wickets to spin, while West Indies have lost five of eight to the slow bowlers so far - Samuels might not get that chance. Chanderpaul affirmed West Indies are in a position to dictate terms in this game: "We have a lead of over 200 so that's pretty good for us. All the spinners are making things happen on this pitch, Shane [Shillinford] turned up in the first innings, [Graeme] Cremer's showing it, Marlon showed it. Who knows what's going to happen second time around, but it's spinning and it's not going to stop spinning."

Read More..

Fulton, Williamson lay platform

Tea New Zealand 173 for 1 (Fulton 95*, Williamson 39*) v England
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Peter Fulton, with his highest Test score, helped New Zealand tighten their grip on the first day of the final Test in Auckland. New Zealand have only once beaten England in a Test series at home - in 1983-84 - but, going into this game with the series level at 0-0, will hope that Fulton has laid the foundations for a similar success.

Fulton, who went into tea five short of a maiden Test century, has so far been the main beneficiary of Alastair Cook's decision to invite New Zealand to bat after winning the toss. On an easy-paced track and under bright skies, none of England's bowlers were able to find any help and batting looked a relatively straightforward proposition.

Fulton, the 34-year-old opener whose previous highest Test score - 75 - was made in 2006, added 79 for the first wicket with Hamish Rutherford and 94 more for the second with Kane Williamson as New Zealand established a strong position.

Fulton was never totally convincing outside off stump. Several times he was drawn into playing deliveries he could have left and, on 12, was fortunate to see his indeterminate prod at a ball from James Anderson fly to the boundary just past third slip. Perhaps, on a larger playing surface, he might have been caught on 30 when he top-edged a pull off Stuart Broad and saw the ball clear the fine-leg boundary, just 53 metres from the bat.

His real strength lies on the legside. His first boundary, a clip through backward square, came when Broad strayed on to his legs and it was fitting that he brought up the 50 partnership and his own 50 with flowing on drives. He plundered 14 - two fours and a six, all through midwicket - in three deliveries off the ineffectual Monty Panesar.

But if Fulton has made the greater contribution to date, Williamson has, arguably, played the more eye-catching strokes. At one stage, he took three boundaries in an over from Anderson, deliberately guiding two balls to third man and driving another, quite beautifully, back past the bowler for another.

The only wicket New Zealand lost to date owed more to a lapse in concentration than any incisive bowling. In the penultimate over of the morning session, Hamish Rutherford attempted a footless slash at a wide delivery and was well taken, high at first slip. He left the field cursing his carelessness and will know he squandered an opportunity to join Fulton in exploiting the friendly conditions.

Cook's pain will have been tempered somewhat by the knowledge that his counterpart, New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum admitted that he, too, would have chosen to bowl first. But England may also reflect that they failed to utilise the new ball as they might have done. Neither Anderson nor Broad made the batsmen play as often as they would have liked in the opening overs and, with the conditions offering little assistance to the bowlers, batting looked increasingly and, from an England perspective, worryingly comfortable.

With the seamers finding little help in the surface, both teams will be relieved they decided to stick with their spinners. Indeed, New Zealand retained the same XI that had represented them in the first two Tests, resisting the opportunity to bring in Doug Bracewell for either the spinner Bruce Martin or to freshen up the seam attack, while England brought in Jonny Bairstow in place of the injured Kevin Pietersen.

Read More..

Kushal Perera slams triple for Colts

Kushal Janith Perera's brutal 336 from 275 deliveries for Colts Cricket Club was the highlight of round seven in the Premier League tournament, after which Panadura Cricket Club and Tamil Union remained atop the group tables. The round produced one draw and five innings victories, and the leading clubs have now pulled firmly away from those that will fight to remain in the league in the two remaining rounds. Each group presently has ten teams in it, and the bottom three teams in each group will be relegated to an emerging tournament next year, which will not have first-class status.

Perera's blitz came against Saracens Sports Club at the Colts' home ground. Coming in at 46 for 2 after the Colts had been asked to bat, Perera put on a 224-run partnership with Nisal Randika, who made 93, before combining with Thisara Perera for the sixth wicket for 137 from 110 balls. Perera's 336 featured 29 fours and 14 sixes, and Colts' innings was eventually declared when he was out on the second morning with the total at 611 for 8. Colts' bowlers then ripped through Saracens twice, dismissing them for 184 and 140. Ishan Jayaratne took five wickets in the second innings, while Akila Dananjaya and Sajeewa Weerakoon grabbed useful hauls. Only Rajkumar Rathika was able to cross fifty for Saracens, who are bottom of Group A after the innings and 287-run loss.

Tamil Union remained the only unbeaten team in the competition, despite its four best bowlers being away on Test duty, as they defeated Chilaw Marians by four wickets in a low-scorer at the P Sara Stadium. Marians batted first and made 209, thanks to an aggressive fifty from Sachith Pathirana who earned a call-up to the ODI side after his 75 runs and 7 for 124 in this match. His five-wicket haul in the first innings helped secure a 53-run lead over the Marians, but totaling just 155 in the second innings, as TN Sampath took five wickets for Tamil Union, allowed the opposition back into the match. In the end 58 from Sachith Pathirana in the final innings, as well as contributions from Pulina Tharanga and Denuwan Rajakaruna, helped Tami Union score the 209 runs required for victory.

Panadura Sports Club defeated Air Force Sports Club by 254 runs at Riffle Green, thanks largely to a ten-wicket haul to left-arm spinner Gayan Sirisoma and a strong first-innings total, built largely by the lower-middle order. Chamara Silva and Chandana Aravinda hit fifties for Panadura in the first innings, with Chathura Peiris, Dilruwan Perera and Sudesh Umangaya also helping propel their side to 309. Sirisoma then helped his side secure a big lead with 5 for 72, as Air Force slumped to 173. Dilruwan Perera then made from 60 balls in the second innings, after Chamara Silva had notched up another fifty, and Dilruwan Perera returned with the ball, to remove four batsmen for 60 runs as Air Force chased an unlikely 440.

Sohan Boralessa's seven-wicket haul and Farveez Maharoof's 116 highlighted Nondescript Cricket Club's five-wicket win over Navy Sports Club. Navy were dismissed for 180 in the first innings, before NCC hit 354, with Maharoof top-scoring. Boralessa then reaped 7 for 96, as Navy put up better resistance, with Duleeka Thissakuttige's unbeaten 100 from No. 3 being the backbone for the team's 278. NCC lost five wickets in their fourth innings, but chased 105 comfortably. Angelo Perera and Niroshan Dickwella also hit half-centuries in the match.

Sinhalese Sports Club, who remained ahead of NCC at second on the Group B table, scored an innings and 70-run victory over Kurunegala Youth Cricket Club. Sachithra Senanayake took nine wickets in the match in the same week he earned an ODI recall, and he is now second on the league's wicket-takers list, with 49. Kaushal Silva provided the anchor for SSC's 448, with 148, with support from Kaushal Lokuarachhi, who made 85 and then took four wickets in the second innings.

A 153 from 181 from Shehan Jayasuriya and a five-wicket haul for Malindu Pushpakumara could not prevent Moors Sports Club from succumbing to Army Sports Club, after Army made 365 in the first innings, with Manjula de Zoysa hitting 142. Army's offspinner Roshan Jayatissa took six wickets in the final innings to help dismiss Moors 265 runs short of an unlikely target.

Elsewhere, Bloomfield Cricket Club's left-arm slow bowler Upul Indrasiri took ten wickets in their innings victory over Ragama Cricket, while another left-arm spinner, Colombo Cricket Club's Dinuka Hettiarachchi became the league's top wicket-taker, when he took 11 Galle Cricket Club scalps, in his side's innings win.

In Badureliya Sports Club's match against Ports Authority cricket club, a 165-run second-innings partnership between Badureliya's No. 7 Malinga Bandara and No. 9 Saliya Saman, rescued the side from defeat, and set Ports Authority a target of 91, which they could not achieve in the nine overs remaining to them in the match.

Read More..

Lahore Lions hold off Sialkot to reach final

Lahore Lions 232 all out (Siddiq 59, Nasim 55*, Bhatti 3-40, Abbas 3-38) beat Sialkot Stallions 192 all out (Yousaf 40, Ashraf 4-33) by 46 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Lahore Lions beat Sialkot Stallions by 46 runs in a rain-affected match to secure a spot in the Faysal Bank One-Day Cup final, which will be at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on March 23. Saad Nasim's late unbeaten half-century proved the difference as Lahore Lions posted a fighting total.

An overcast day led Sialkot to opt to field first. Lahore Lions were reduced to 31 for 2, losing their captain, Azhar Ali, and Raza Ali Dar, for ducks. Umar Saddiq (59) and Usman Salahuddin (44) held their nerve though, stringing together a 62-run partnership for the third wicket. However, rain intervened during the innings to reduce the overs to 44 a side.

Salahuddin anchored another 60-run stand, for the fourth wicket, with Fahad-ul-Haq (32) to keep things on track before Lahore Lions' middle order slumped, losing five wickets for 30 runs.

Nasim fought hard as he waged a lone battle to keep Lahore Lions in the game. He smacked eight boundaries including four sixes in his unbeaten 55 off 44 balls, muscling his side to a respectable 232. Bilawal Bhatti and Nayyer Abbas took three wickets each.

Requiring 5.2 runs per over, Sialkot replied confidently, with Mukhtar Ahmed clubbing two back-to-back boundaries in the very first over. But Sialkot began to stall as they were reduced to 117 for 6 inside of 29 overs. Shahid Yousuf (40) along with Ali Khan (36) resisted for a while, but the required rate was getting out of hand.

Abbas (20) and Ali battled for a 42-run cameo stand for the seventh wicket, but were pinned down by Lahore Lions' disciplined bowling. They eventually were dismissed for 192, with Ashraf being the pick of the bowlers with 4 for 33.

Karachi Zebras and Karachi Dolphins will go head to head tomorrow at the same venue to decide who Lahore Lions will face on Saturday.

Read More..

My honesty helped earn Tendulkar's captaincy recommendation - Dhoni

MS Dhoni believes his forthrightness helped him earn a captaincy recommendation from Sachin Tendulkar. He said he received Tendulkar's backing in the matter, which was a "huge thing".

"On the field, I always give my honest inputs about team strategy," Dhoni said at the launch of Sachin - The Cricketer of the Century, a book that celebrates his stellar innings. "Tendulkar and I used to discuss team strategy on the field. If I was convinced [about something], I would even disagree with him and it happened quite often.

"I think my honesty has paid dividends when he recommended me for captaincy. He might [have been] thinking that I had learnt in quick time [about] different aspects of the game and team strategy. Even if I was not made the captain, it was a huge thing that Tendulkar had recommended my name for captaincy."

Dhoni, who debuted for India in 2004, took over the limited-overs captaincy from Rahul Dravid after India's tour of England in 2007. He had a smashing start to his captaincy, leading India to victory in the World Twenty20 2007 in his first series in charge. Soon after, he lost his maiden ODI series as captain, at home to Australia, but followed up with victory in the tri-series in Australia that also included Sri Lanka. He took over the Test captaincy full-time from Anil Kumble in November 2008 in the Nagpur Test against Australia, and has now become India's most successful Test captain with 23 wins from 46 Tests.

Dhoni, who labelled Tendulkar his "sporting hero", also spoke about the first time he met him. "I think that was in a Duleep Trophy match in Pune in 2000-01 or 2001-02 season. I was in East Zone squad and was carrying drinks. Tendulkar made 199 in that match and he was batting when I went onto the field to serve drinks to my team-mates in the drinks break.

"Suddenly, he asked me, 'Can I have a drink also?' That was my first meeting with Tendulkar, my idol. I did not speak a word to him and ended up serving a drink to him."

Read More..

Deadlocked sides target final flourish

Match facts

Friday, March 22, Eden Park, Auckland
Start time 1030 (2130 GMT previous day)

Big Picture

There is a Test series up for grabs in New Zealand, but England's thoughts are never far away from the important summer that lies in wait. Their hosting of the Champions Trophy offers them a chance to break their duck in a 50-over ICC tournament and then there is the little matter of back-to-back Ashes series. There is no point pretending otherwise - it is on everybody's mind.

Three back-to-back Tests in New Zealand are bound to leave England a little queasy. Every time James Anderson frowned in his run up in the second Test in Wellington, awful visions appeared of him missing an entire summer with an as yet undiagnosed injury. But Anderson came through 37 grueling overs, largely into the wind, with nothing more than a few back and heel niggles and with the help of the rain that washed out the final day confirmed he felt okay again. The slightest concern about his fitness, though, could tempt England to play safe and rest their most prized bowling asset; Graham Onions was one of only three players who had optional nets on Tuesday.

And what of Monty? He was outbowled by Bruce Martin at the Basin Reserve and before this series few people in England had even heard of Bruce Martin. As Graeme Swann's sidekick in India, Panesar shared in one of the finest spin-bowling feats in England's Test history. As a lone spinner in New Zealand, his ability to block up an end allowed England to rotate their fast bowlers (and, no mean feat, probably helped to keep them fit in the process).

Accusations that New Zealand have been intent solely on a nil-all draw are somewhat unfair. If the pitch in Dunedin was a drudge, Wellington provided a decent Test surface. New Zealand have been competitive, not remotely the pushovers that some imagined as they have battled back from the mess of the Ross Taylor ousting; they can take pride in that. Indeed, their professionalism has been so exemplary it invites the New Zealand public to consider whether the replacement of Taylor with Brendon McCullum was actually more logical than it has so far cared to admit. Now there's a debate to pass the time while watching Test cricket in the mind-numbing surroundings of a rugby ground - isn't it about time New Zealand's capital city provided a venue fit for Test cricket?

Form guide

New Zealand DDLLW
England DDDWW

Players to watch ...

Brendon McCullum has led from the front for New Zealand throughout this tour. His counter-attacking half-century in Wellington (are his innings ever anything else?) was his fifth in consecutive innings. However, his form is too good for him not to convert into a hundred. If the surface at Eden Park does have more pace and bounce as suggested McCullum is one of the New Zealand batsmen best equipped to deal with it. Beating England after all that has happened - what an achievement that would be.

Jonny Bairstow has played one first-class innings in seven months and now he is set to be pitched into a deciding Test. No surprise, then, that while most of the squad had a day off on Wednesday he was working in the nets with Graham Gooch. It has been a difficult for months for Bairstow - form and family issues impacted his tours - but this is a chance, albeit an unexpected one, to play a key role for England.

Team news

Kevin Pietersen will not only miss the final Test in Auckland but the whole of the IPL because of a knee injury which has been ruled out of all cricket for up to eight weeks. Instead of the adulation which he laps up on every visit to India, he faces a lengthy rehabilitation with a view to regaining match fitness in time for the Champions Trophy and the Ashes series which follows. Bairstow is expected to deputise although Chris Woakes remains an outside chance. For New Zealand, a third Test in quick succession will tempt them to shuffle their pace attack with the possibility that Doug Bracewell may get an outing instead of Trent Boult.

New Zealand (probable): 1 Peter Fulton, 2 Hamish Rutherford, 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Ross taylor, 5 Dean Brownlie, 6 Brendon McCullum, 7 BJ Watling, 8 Doug Bracewell, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Bruce Martin, 11 Neil Wagner

England (probable): 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Nick Compton, 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Ian Bell, 5 Jonny Bairstow, 6 Joe Root, 7 Matt Prior (wk), 8 Stuart Broad, 9 Steve Finn, 10 James Anderson, 11 Monty Panesar.

Pitch and conditions

Drop-in Test pitches are regarded with such suspicion - somewhere between an artificial surface and the real thing - that discussing their likely behaviour still seems a little unreal. A couple of days to help the seamers before the pitch flattens out was one analysis. As for the weather, temperatures at the end of the summer have slipped a tad, but a maximum of 23C and a good deal of sunshine is the forecast.

Stats and trivia

• Eden Park has staged 47 matches since 1930 and many suspect this may be its last. Its straight boundaries fall well short of the 70m minimum distance from the centre of the pitch, but ICC regulations allow any ground approved for international cricket before 2007 cricket to be exempt. So that's alright then.
• New Zealand have beaten England only once in 15 attempts at Eden Park (10 have been drawn). Daryl Tuffey was the star of their win in 2002 with nine wickets in the match and his 6 for 54 in the first innings was a Test-best analysis.
• England have won deciders on this tour over both 50 and 20 overs.
• England have never won a 50-over ICC trophy; if they tell you they have not even given the Champions Trophy, to be played in England in June, a second thought, greet it with suspicion.

Quotes

"The confidence within the group is building nicely but there's also a realism that we will have to perform outstandingly well for five days. England stepped up in those previous two deciders and we went missing so this will be a good challenge to see if we've progressed as a team."
Brendon McCullum

"In an ideal world a pitch with more pace and bounce would make for a more exciting wicket. But whichever pitch we get in Auckland we'll try to find the best way to win the game."
Alastair Cook, England's captain, vows to keep going.

Read More..

Mishra, Patel build Kenya reply

Kenya 202 for 3 (Patel 59*, Mishra 57*) trail Canada 358 by 156 runs
Scorecard

A century partnership between Tanmay Mishra and Rakep Patel saw Kenya fightback against Canada on the second day in Dubai. At 95 for 3 Kenya were facing a sizable deficit but Mishra and Patel got together to put their side in a strong position.

Both players made half-centuries with Patel's the livelier, coming in just 54 balls with seven fours and a six. Mishra was more sedate and had faced 119 balls by the close for his 57 not out. Together, the pair had got Kenya back into the game.

They had made a poor start in reply to Canada's solid total, losing openers Irfan Karim and Duncan Allan after both had made starts. Captain Collins Obuya also settled with six fours but he fell top-edging Nikhil Dutta's off spin to leave his side struggling.

At that stage Canada were right on top having added 112 to their overnight total with useful contributions from the tail, the pick of which, 32 from No. 11 Henry Osinde, included three fours and two sixes. The tenth wicket added 57 as Canada took control of the game before the response from Mishra and Patel.

Read More..

Concerns over SL players' IPL 2013 stint

The participation of Sri Lanka players in the 2013 IPL, which begins on April 3, has been thrown into some doubt following political tensions in India over the treatment of Tamils in Sri Lanka. The Sri Lanka Players' Association has raised strong concerns about the safety of Sri Lanka cricketers who will play in Chennai, the capital of the state of Tamil Nadu, and officials from a couple of franchises admitted that the IPL has "verbally communicated" the same concerns to them.

The political fallout of the issue has led to the DMK, a Tamil Nadu-based party, pulling its ministers out of the federal coalition government in New Delhi and threatening its future. There have been at least two reported attacks on Sri Lankan tourists in Tamil Nadu in the past few days and Sri Lanka's foreign ministry has asked its nationals visiting Tamil Nadu to exercise caution. The fear is that the controversy will snowball and put players at risk.

Twelve Sri Lanka players are contracted to IPL teams in 2013, with fast bowler Nuwan Kulasekara and offspinner Akila Dananjaya part of the Chennai Super Kings franchise. Ten matches will be played in Chennai.

In Sri Lanka, the players' association said it was currently consulting with its parent organisation, the Federation of International Cricketers' Associations, to determine a course of action that will ensure cricketers' safety. "We have sent a letter to FICA outlining the situation, which they are not aware of at the moment," SLPA general secretary Ken de Alwis said. "They will talk to their security consultants and get back to us about what needs to be in place." Alwis said, however, that the cricketers who are set to play in the tournament have expressed confidence in existing security arrangements. "The players aren't worried at all. In fact, I spoke to a few of them and they said, 'No, security will be tight, and we're not too concerned right now.'" In India, where the issue was given a dramatic twist on Tuesday with the DMK's withdrawal from the government, franchise officials now say the IPL is concerned at events. "They [IPL] have told us that the federal government might impose certain restrictions with regard to Sri Lankan nationals travelling to Chennai. If that happens, [we have been asked to] be prepared to play those games without the Lankan players," a franchise official said on condition of anonymity.

Most of the franchises contacted by ESPNcricinfo said they were not really concerned about the league stage, where they could ask teams not to field their Sri Lankan players for the Chennai matches. The "real concern" for them is the Eliminator, scheduled to be played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on May 22. "If the situation doesn't improve by then and either or both teams have to do without one or two key players, the match could be seriously affected," another franchise official said.

While for seven teams, it will mean being without the services of one or two players for a game, the biggest impact will be for the Chennai Super Kings, the host team, who might have to do without Kulasekara and Dananjaya for all eight home games.

The first IPL game in Chennai will be between the hosts and Mumbai Indians, for whom Lasith Malinga is a key player, on April 6.

Read More..