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On Saturday, Harbhajan Singh and Ajinkya Rahane will have turned from colleagues to competitors in less than 48 hours. From being part of India’s bench in Kolkata, the duo will go to playing playing the Ranji Trophy Group A tie between hosts Mumbai and Punjab. This will be at the Wankhede Stadium, the same venue where they were part of India’s ten-wicket mauling by England less than two weeks ago.After having been in the harsh spotlight, Harbhajan, the Punjab captain, along with Rahane – Mumbai batting’s backbone for the last five years – will enjoy the quaint set-up of a Ranji tie, with hardly any spectators and only a handful of journalists watching the game.While Harbhajan will look to extend Punjab’s dream run (they have qualified for the knockouts with three games remaining in the group stage), Rahane will hope to bolster Mumbai as they bid for their first victory of the season in their fifth game.”I just wanted to come back and play some game. It’s important to stay in touch,” Harbhajan said. “In Kolkata, the sun goes down so quickly. By 4pm it’s very dark, so you don’t get any practice if you’re sitting out. It’s good to be coming over and bowl a few overs before I join the [Test] team in Nagpur. It’ll be good to bowl few overs, pick up some wickets and score runs, hopefully, and join team again for the last Test.”Even without their regular captain Harbhajan, Punjab have been the highlight of the season so far. Led by Mandeep Singh, soon to turn 21, in four of their five games so far. Two of these wins have included bonus points. No wonder, then, that they find themselves at the top of the points table with 29 points – 18 more than the second-placed Madhya Pradesh, with Mumbai in third with 10 points.But that doesn’t mean Punjab won’t take the Mumbai game seriously. “It’s a bit challenging for us after doing well in Mohali, where the bounce is slightly less than what you get here in Mumbai,” Harbhajan, who has taken over from Mandeep, said. “Doing well in Mumbai is always good. Mumbai have always been a strong side, so scoring runs and picking up wickets here will definitely boost the confidence going into the next round.”While their results might not have been similar, Mumbai, just like Punjab, have had two captains so far this season, albeit for completely different reasons. Ajit Agarkar, who strained his thigh during their season-opener against Railways, was sidelined for the previous three games, has now taken over the mantle from Rohit Sharma, who had an indifferent run at the helm.Agarkar’s return and Rahane’s availability means Mumbai go in with a full-strength squad for only the second time this season. After Sachin Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan were available for the 39-times champions’ opening game of the season, neither the senior duo nor Rahane were available for Mumbai due to Test commitments. Wasim Jaffer too missed the first three games of the season while on pilgrimage, and Dhawal Kulkarni missed a game due to viral infection, so Mumbai have not had a settled XI.”It helps if there is a little bit of continuity,” Agarkar said. “We should have probably got over the line in the last game; it was unfortunate, but we’ve got another chance. We’ve got four internationals in our top five. We can’t ask for a better combination as a batting unit. But again, we will have to play well to get a positive result.”Agarkar admitted that Harbhajan’s return could further lift the already successful Punjab: “Any international player who is currently with the [national] team coming back to play for his state team is a big boost. A guy who has got 400 Test wickets is a big player. [But] we will just worry about what we need to do to play well.”If Mumbai indeed raise the level of their game, then they could end up being the first team to really challenge Punjab this season.

Under normal circumstances, the camera crews crowding around Andrew Strauss might have been at Lord’s to ask him about becoming only the ninth England player to appear in 100 Tests. In normal circumstances, Strauss might have expected to be asked to reflect on his career, his achievements and, perhaps his future.But these are not normal circumstances. Instead Strauss has spent the run-up to an important game that will settle, for now, the title of the best Test team in the world, embroiled in an increasingly unseemly dispute between the ECB and Kevin Pietersen.Strauss would not claim to be the most talented man to have played for England. He would not claim to be the most inventive of captains, either. But, through a long and successful career, he has, as John Betjeman put it, never cheated, never doubted. He has displayed the timeless virtues of decency, honesty and modesty. If captaincy is about inspiring by individual performance and tactical brilliance, then Strauss is an also-ran. But if it is about leadership and uniting and instilling common values and goals, he has been excellent.He is an old-fashioned cricketer; a cricketer who soon abandoned any pretence at brilliance in T20 and who plays for honour and pride. But now he finds himself in a brave new world of texts and tweets, of PR and positioning, of multi-million dollar IPL deals and score-settling books. A world not short of cliques and arrogance. Strauss is a decent man in an increasingly indecent world.But, in time, it may be reflected that the Lord’s Test was the moment that Strauss reclaimed control of his England team. This was, after all, a team he inherited at a low-ebb for English cricket – the captain and coach had been fired and they were bowled out in a session Jamaica – and guided to the top of the world rankings. Whatever the rights and wrongs of the Kevin Pietersen affair – and there have been faults on both sides and an apology on only one – Strauss’ only fault has been an inability to unite the two warring parties.Strauss has been impressive in the run-up to this game. He has made it clear that he will not tolerate selfishness in his team and explained how he was dragged into the situation by a need to protect the dressing room environment that had contributed to England’s success.But he also admitted that Pietersen was not the only one who might do well to reflect on their actions. It was the performance of a natural leader. When his playing career finishes, a role in cricket administration or even politics is surely on offer should he desire it.”I feel a little bit let down by Kevin,” Strauss said. “It’s not a personal thing. I’ve always got on very well with Kevin. This had been a dispute between Kevin and the board over his availability for the IPL and a number of other points. But once the players became involved, I certainly become very protective of that environment; the values by which we live and treat each other. And I’m willing to remain vigilant about that going forward because I think it’s central to why we’ve become a very good side.”But I think if we are going to resolve these issues everyone’s got to take a bit of a long hard look at how things have developed over the last couple of weeks and say: ‘have we all done everything we can to avoid this happening?’ We’re all going to be required to look at it that way.”It now appears most unlikely that Pietersen will play in World T20. The squad was selected at Edgbaston last week and will be named on Saturday. There is now precious little opportunity for Pietersen to persuade his way back into the fold especially as Strauss has insisted that his focus will be entirely on the Test for the next five days.It has been enlightening to read the comments on this situation from Pietersen’s friends and family. Their loyalty is admirable and their words no doubt well-intentioned. But a little restraint would have been even more welcome and every rant from Bryan Pietersen, his brother, and Piers Morgan drives another nail into the coffin of Kevin Pietersen’s international career. One lesson of this episode is that he needs to surround himself with fewer sycophants and one or two calmer, wiser heads.”Cricketers are a pretty forgiving bunch. But we need to bring stuff out in the open. We can’t just have it swept under the carpet and I’ve no idea at this stage how that’s going to work out.”Amid the Pietersen soap opera, it could be overlooked that England must win this Test to retain their No.1 ranking. It appears highly likely they will recall Graeme Swann, with Graham Onions also vying for selection ahead of Tim Bresnan and Steven Finn.The Lord’s pitch contains, perhaps, just a touch more green than normal and the outfield bears deeper scars than anticipated from the Olympics. But this will, doubtless, prove another decent pitch and England will have to drastically improve their performances in the first two Tests if they are to pull-off a series-levelling victory.

Graeme Swann has admitted that the thought of needing surgery on his troublesome right elbow is his “worst fear” and he will try anything to get through the rest of his career without another operation.Swann has had to manage the problem, which involves floating bone fragments very near the nerve in his elbow, for a number of years. He has been rested for some of England’s one-day internationals this season and had an injection shortly before the South Africa Test series began, although he doubts its effectiveness. Memories of when he last underwent surgery in 2009 – which he described as “horrendous” – mean he will trying anything to avoid a second procedure.”That is my worst fear at the minute,” he said. “When I had surgery before it was ten times the problem it is now. There are bits of floating bone in there which are too close to the nerve. I had all the other pieces taken out but the surgeon said he had to leave these. He said they may cause you a bit of grief now and then. It is little things like if I hold the phone too long with my right hand I can’t use my arm for a couple of minutes – it just goes dead.”During the one-day series – the Aussies or West Indies I can’t remember – it was really starting to ache. The break we had since really helped. I don’t think the jab has done anything to be honest. I reckon it was more a hope-for-the-best jab because nothing else seemed to work. The rest from bowling for a couple of weeks did it good. There was an option to play in the Championship game this week that’s going on at Trent Bridge but I think if I start doing that then I will be in a lot of trouble.”If anything was going to test the well-being of Swann’s elbow it would have been last week’s opening Test against South Africa where he toiled through 52 wicketless overs as South Africa piled up 637 for 2. He insisted he felt no ill-effects from two days in the field although he knows that the only way to manage the problem in the longer term could be to miss further matches.”After the Oval Test my body felt strangely buoyant, quite youthful,” he said. “After bowling 52 fruitless overs I should have really wanted to hang the boots up there I suppose. It was very strange. A spinner normally bowls 50 overs per Test anyway. I just got them out of the way in one fell swoop.”If it keeps deteriorating I will undoubtedly have to miss some cricket. But it’s not really deteriorated in the last three or four weeks, it feels better than it did. I’ll have to cross that bridge when I come to it. I’m hoping not because realistically, if I look at the age I am and what have you, if I can just get to the end of my playing days and my arm falls off the next day sort of thing, I’m quite happy with that. I don’t want to have another operation if I can help it because it’s horrendous.”In terms of the immediate future, Swann is unconcerned about his lack of recent success in Test cricket. In four matches this season he has claimed just six wickets at 72.16 and while he had more of a holding role against West Indies he was expected to be a significant threat at The Oval.”I was actually very happy with it,” he said of his performance. “It felt very blunt by the end of it as you tend to when you have bowled 35 overs for no wicket. On the fourth morning it was very unpleasant bowling. I took too long to adjust to Graeme Smith to go a little bit wider – I should have done that earlier – but had he been given lbw, it was one of those that was umpire’s call, we could have had a new man in and we could have bowled them out for 300.”Anyone who bowls knows that at some point you’re going to have spells when you don’t take wickets,” he added. “If you let that get you down it is going to be the end of your career. I still bowl against people I’ve bowled at a lot before and I always back myself. My consistency’s always getting better. I’m always working on new things, new ways of getting people out – mentally, not physically with new balls and things.”Swann, though, would not be overly perturbed if he had to wait a little longer for a return to wicket-taking form so long as England can find a way back into the series. “You’ve got a new game, a new wicket – I might not even bowl. I’m fully expecting to get handed the ball just before teatime when they’re seven down and there’s a left-hander in. I’m an eternal optimist.”Investec, the specialist bank and asset manager, is the title sponsor of Test match cricket in England. Visit the Investec Cricket Zone at investec.co.uk/cricket for player analysis, stats, Test match info and games.

South Africa left Canterbury on Sunday at the end of the second warm-up match of their England tour eager for the real thing which will start on Thursday at The Oval. Much has been made of a brief lead-in for the visitors before the battle for No. 1 begins, but by their standards this has been more than they often have on overseas tours.It has been a vital time for the team with some players coming back from a lengthy off-season. Two eventful days in Taunton, which included Mark Boucher’s enforced retirement, overshadowed any cricket that was played and gave the three-day match against Kent the feeling of a fresh start.They enjoyed a much quieter time and were able to focus more on their game. This time the disruptions came from an area they have no control over with the second day shortened by rain, but two full days allowed their likely first-choice team to find their feet. All the frontline batsmen spent time at the crease, some more than others, and their probable Test attack bowled at least three spells each although not all of them convincingly.”I can promise you that all the boys just want that first Test to start now,” Jacques Rudolph, who scored a half-century in the South African innings, said. “We’re well aware we haven’t played a lot of cricket before this series and we’ve accepted that. England have played a lot of cricket, we haven’t but we’re not going to be worried about how much cricket we’ve played.”Instead, members of the squad have said they have prepared in other ways. They have referred to the three-day training camp in Switzerland with regularity and Rudolph was the latest to join in. “We spent some valuable time with Mike Horn, which really unified us,” he said. “They were the three toughest days of my life, mentally and physically, and it was nice to do it with your team-mates because it gives you a bit of a stronger bond.”The team spirit was tested in Taunton after they lost their lynchpin. Rudolph described Boucher’s injury as “traumatic,” but said they “decided we had to move on quite quickly from that.” Now, what is on their minds is making sure they are as ready as possible for the first ball on Thursday morning.Three batsmen – Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis and Rudolph – scored half-centuries while JP Duminy made 53 against Somerset. “From a batting point of view, everybody got starts and got in,” Rudolph said.Rudolph batted at No.6 in the Kent match having opened in Taunton because Alviro Petersen was injured. He said that while he did not have to make major adjustments, he used the time to tweak small things that are important when batting in England.”You’ve got to have a really good game plan and know the way you want to construct an innings here,” he said. “You’ve got to play the ball really late because the bowlers are looking to go fuller so driving becomes a little bit more difficult.”By contrast, the South African bowlers had to adjust their lengths to avoid bowling too short, something Morne Morkel struggled with on arrival. Although they battled to take wickets on a slow surface in Canterbury, Rudolph said the focus was on finding the right rhythms rather than making big breakthroughs.”It has been a little bit disappointing for the bowlers because the wicket didn’t really give them a lot of assistance, but I know specifically in the first innings they were just trying to bowl into their areas,” he said. “It was pleasing to see Imran Tahir get four wickets in the first innings because he has been working really hard on his game.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
M Vijay and the rest of Super Kings’ batsmen ransacked the Daredevils bowling•AFP

The questions everyone was asking after the toss were: why is the virtually unknown offspinner Sunny Gupta making his IPL debut in Delhi Daredevils’ biggest game of the season and why was purple cap holder Morne Morkel dropped? The questions resonated through the game and will haunt the Daredevils management for long, as one of the biggest tactical goof-ups in IPL history meant another season of dominance at the league stage ended without a win in the playoffs.M Vijay clubbed a century and Chennai Super Kings took their toll of the weakened Daredevils attack to run up the highest score of the tournament. The decision to leave out Morkel had been based partly on wanting to strengthen an already intimidating batting line-up but the target was too much to ask even of Daredevils’ superstars.Super Kings came into the competition boasting a batting unit littered with match-winners but they rarely clicked together in the league phase. In the playoffs, though, they have been a transformed side. Two days after mauling Mumbai Indians, their batsmen fired again leaving Daredevils bowlers utterly clueless. Gupta was taken for 47 in his three overs and Varun Aaron conceded 63 in his four, the most expensive figures in IPL history.Much of the punishment came at the hands of Vijay, who hasn’t had the best of tournaments. A poor run at the start of the season left him with the unwanted distinction of being the only retained Indian player to be dropped in 2012. Super Kings backed him after leaving him out for a few games, and he repaid the faith with a big-match innings that has put them in their third final in a row.The hammering started in the first over, as Gupta’s first two deliveries were driven to the long-off boundary by Vijay. Normally a player who favours the leg-side, his lofted drives through the off side were the highlight of the innings. Even with Michael Hussey sensibly pushing the ball around and letting Vijay go for the big hits, Super Kings motored to 68 in eight overs.Hussey fell soon after but by the time Virender Sehwag came on to bowl in the 11th, Vijay was unstoppable. That over kickstarted another phase of heavy scoring: first a six to midwicket that was brilliantly caught by Ross Taylor who stepped on the rope as he landed, then a powerful cut behind backward point for four, followed by a boundary to long-on and a six over cow corner. After that second six, Vijay was at such ease that he was sharing a joke with non-striker Suresh Raina. Two overs of mayhem later, when Vijay safely guided a ball to third man, he was gesticulating in frustration for having taken only a single off the delivery.Daredevils didn’t help matters with their shoddy catching. Sehwag was awfully leaden-footed to a miscue from Raina to cover while David Warner, possibly their best fielder, grassed MS Dhoni at long-on. The bowling from Daredevils wasn’t particularly poor – there weren’t too many hit-me full tosses or gifted-away deliveries down the leg side – but was merely run-of-the-mill length stuff that was no worry to Super Kings’ marauders. Morne Morkel’s control was sorely missed.Dhoni and Dwayne Bravo played mini-versions of their powerhouse efforts against Mumbai Indians while Vijay went on to his century, which he celebrated with gusto pointing to the back of his shirt and showing his relief to put an indifferent run firmly behind him.Facing with a massive target, Daredevils had another surprise in store: for the first time this season, Sehwag didn’t open. Mahela Jayawardene came out at the top of the order and, though he stuck around for a characteristically elegant half-century, the game was virtually done within the fourth over of the chase as both Sehwag and David Warner were dismissed.Super Kings’ batting may grab all the headlines, but their fielding has also been top-class this season, highlighted by Vijay’s sharp catch to dismiss Warner and then the running take by Hussey to send back Sehwag.Ross Taylor slogged a couple of sixes over midwicket but his over-reliance on that stroke cost him as he miscued a wide delivery to mid-on. Jayawardene was left with too much to do, and after he was bowled after missing a reverse-sweep, there was no one to stop Daredevils from sliding to the biggest defeat of the season.

Match facts

Tuesday, April 24, Kolkata
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)Will Deccan Chargers have reason to smile tomorrow?•AFP

Big Picture

What will it take for Deccan Chargers to get a win? They have made 196 and lost, they have failed to defend 18 off the final over, they have dropped catches and fielded poorly with embarrassing regularity. They are in imminent danger of having to win every remaining match to make the knockouts if their run of five consecutive losses extends further.Chargers do not have the luxury, like Delhi Daredevils had, of big signings arriving through the tournament to boost them. The current set of players will have to start a turnaround. On evidence of their showing so far, it seems an uphill task. Both their overseas and domestic players have struggled.Kolkata Knight Riders are on solid ground. They have had their customary stutters almost every game, but apart from the narrow loss to Kings XI Punjab at home, they haven’t thrown it away. Having defeated Chargers convincingly on Sunday on a Cuttack pitch that resembled the one at Eden Gardens in its slowness, they will start favourites.

Form guide

Kolkata Knight Riders WWLWW
Deccan Chargers LLLLL

Players to watch

The only game in which Chargers posted a daunting total, against Rajasthan Royals, JP Duminy made an unbeaten 58 from just 26 deliveries. He came in at No. 4 that day; he’s batted at No. 5 in his other two innings. Despite getting reasonable starts, Chargers have struggled to get going in the later stages of their innings. Another promotion for Duminy would not be a bad idea.Yusuf Pathan has made 29 runs from seven games at a strike-rate of 82.85 and gone wicketless in ten overs at an economy-rate of 8.70. Knight Riders have been maintaining that Yusuf is one innings away from finding his destructive touch. How long a rope will he be given by the team management?

Stats and trivia

• Yusuf made 1011 runs in 42 innings at a strike-rate of 161.24 for Rajasthan Royals. For Knight Riders, his strike-rate drops to 128.81 for just 380 runs scored in 21 innings.
• Shikhar Dhawan is Chargers’ leading run-getter this season with 208 at a strike-rate of 126.82. No other Chargers batsman has made even 100 runs.
  

  Quotes

  “I think in the last four matches we’ve played good cricket. It’s just that at the big moments we’ve made a mistake either with the bat, the ball or in the field, whether it be a poor over, a dropped catch or not taking on the right bowler at the right time.”

Scorecard Afsar Zazai, 18, led Afghanistan to an improbable three-wicket win over Netherlands on his first-class debut. Netherlands were favourites to win when they had reduced Afghanistan to 111 for 6 in their chase of 233 on the second day. But Zazai did not give up and along with Mohammad Nabi (25) and Samiullah Shenwari (20 not out) took Afghanistan to second position on the points table behind Ireland.Afghanistan needed another 122 to win at the start of the third day with only four wickets standing. Wicketkeeper Zazai added 76 with Nabi and an unbroken 46 for the eighth wicket with Shenwari. He hit 13 boundaries in his patient unbeaten innings of 84 from 156 deliveries. Though Nabi fell to Michael Swart with the score on 187, Shenwari supported Zazai as he carried Afghanistan to the target.

Lauderhill in Florida will host New Zealand and West Indies for two Twenty20 matches on June 30 and July 1, in the run-up to New Zealand’s tour of the Caribbean. This will be only the second time two Test teams face-off in Florida, after the Twenty20s between Sri Lanka and New Zealand in May 2010.New Zealand Cricket chief executive David White said the games in Lauderhill would boost the sport’s profile in the USA. “Playing matches in Florida is great for the profile of cricket, as Cricket Holdings America works towards forming a professional Twenty20 league,” he said. “I think the West Indies Cricket Board should be commended for the hard work that has gone into scheduling the matches.”After the Twenty20s, New Zealand will play five one-dayers and three Tests in the West Indies, between July 5 and August 6. Jamaica and St Kitts will host the ODIs, while the Tests are scheduled for Antigua and, again, Jamaica. New Zealand will play one three-day tour game ahead of the Tests.Schedule:June 30, 1st Twenty20, Florida
July 1, 2nd Twenty20, Florida
July 5, 1st ODI, Jamaica
July 7, 2nd ODI, Jamaica
July 11, 3rd ODI, St Kitts
July 14, 4th ODI, St Kitts
July 16, 5th ODI, St Kitts
July 20-22, tour match, Antigua
July 25-29, 1st Test, Antigua
August 2-6, 2nd Test, Jamaica

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsThere were centuries for the former and current Indian vice-captains•Associated Press

The Asia Cup was a chance for India to wipe the slate clean after the horrors of Australia, and they began their campaign by playing to their strengths – batting the opposition out of the game. Centuries by Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli took India to 304, and though the efforts of their bowlers cannot be ignored, crucial wickets were gifted away by Sri Lanka. It was an underwhelming performance by a Sri Lankan batting line-up that stretches till No.9, which in some ways was a spin-off from their performance in the loss in the third CB series final against Australia.The tweaked batting Powerplay rule – mandatory before the 40th over – was brought about to make captains think more. In many games since its introduction, including this one, it turned out to be the game-changer. Sri Lanka were still well-placed at the end of the 35th over, needing 109 off the last 15 overs with seven wickets in hand. The loss of Kumar Sangakkara off the first ball of the field restrictions was the start of the turnaround for India; they picked up three more wickets for 31 runs in that period. Irfan Pathan picked up four wickets, including Mahela Jayawardene, to give India a fairly comprehensive win in the final analysis, though at one stage it looked a lot closer.India owed their resurgence to their two most in-form batsmen from Australia – Kohli and Gambhir. One was recently made the vice-captain, the other had the same post taken away from him. Any simmering tension, fictional or not, was barely evident as they added 205 to give India the kind of prolonged authority rarely seen when in Australia.India managed only two 100-plus stands in the CB Series, that too in the same game, in Hobart. The common thread between the two games was Kohli. This innings wasn’t as manic, but the effect was still demoralising for Sri Lanka, who took control at the start of the innings but had to wait an eternity to strike again.The departure from Australian pitches to friendlier “home” conditions was evident in the way Gambhir dabbed and poked with regularity to third man. The same shot, which had him caught behind so often in Australia, fetched him several singles, thanks to the relatively lower bounce that suited his style.The pace wasn’t electric, but steady. Gambhir and Kohli had to be watchful against packed off-side fields, typical of Jayawardene’s captaincy. Short cover and short point were placed to check the cover drive but in due course the pair managed to work their way around those fields, shuffling and nudging it to the on side to pick up the singles.Gambhir’s stint wasn’t flawless, though. He was dropped on 36 and survived a run-out opportunity on 94, Dinesh Chandimal the culprit on both occasions. Those lapses overshadowed a more committed display in the field at the start of the innings, when the run-rate was just over four an over.Apart from the late cuts, Gambhir used his feet well against the spinners, lofting over extra cover and down to the straight boundary. Hitting in the air was a method the batsmen had to employ as several drives along the ground found the fielders. Kohli kept busy at the crease, rotating the strike to ensure India didn’t get bogged down against the spinners.The period between the second and third Powerplays – overs 21 to 35 – produced 87 runs. Only five fours were struck in that period but the pair wore Sri Lanka down with singles – 53 of them – and six twos. Jayawardene went defensive, pushing the fielders back. Kohli ensured he punished the bad deliveries from the spinners and even produced a reverse-sweep, which raced to third man.Both batsmen reached their centuries in the 42nd over, and their contrasting celebrations were compelling to watch. Kohli controlled his emotions by merely gesturing to his team-mates with a big smile. Gambhir, however, didn’t restrain himself as he punched the air, removed his helmet and yelled out something to the dressing-room. His emotional reaction signalled the end of a long wait to reach three-figures.Both departed in the following over, holing out to the deep. The double-strike – in the 43rd over – didn’t give Sri Lanka much respite, as MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina plundered some wayward bowling at the death.Jayawardene’s visually pleasing half-century gave Sri Lanka the platform to beat their previous highest successful chase against India, but his team needed him to stay on longer. His innings was aggression mixed with serenity. He showed his class by his innovativeness, forcing Dhoni to constantly make field changes to plug the gaps during the first 10 overs. That was a moral victory for Jayawardene, seeing his opposing number gesticulating to his fielders despite the cushion of 304 runs.With a keen eye for where the fielders were placed, Jayawardene picked his spots in style, including a lapped six over fine leg, a delicate late cut and pleasing drives wide of point with little effort.Tillakaratne Dilshan perished by slapping straight to midwicket, the first of Sri Lanka’s giveaways. Sangakkara started pushing the ball into the gaps, even chipping down to loft Ravindra Jadeja over deep midwicket for a six.Both Sangakkara and Jayawardene were visibly upset with themselves when they got out. When Pathan returned for a new spell, Jayawardene tried to disturb his rhythm by trying to dab one to third man. It resulted in a tame edge to Dhoni and his frustration was palpable. The pressure increased a touch on Sangakkara when Chandimal was bowled giving R Ashwin the charge, and his own attempt at giving his team the momentum in the 36th over caused Sri Lanka’s steady fall.A few clean blows by Nuwan Kulasekara and Farveez Maharoof gave Sri Lanka hope, but they couldn’t get on top of Vinay Kumar and Pathan, who bowled with far greater control at the death than their opponents.

Peter Forrest is reaping the benefits of a new state for himself and a new broom for Australian cricket.Rewarded for his own initiative in moving to a team that welcomed him in Queensland, Forrest is also a living example of the Argus review directives that placed renewed emphasis on rewarding domestic players for performance, and a new selection panel casting its net wide for men of strong character to represent Australia.After looking at home while making 66 on debut against India in Adelaide, Forrest can expect to keep his squad place for the remainder of the triangular series, and beyond that the West Indies now beckon. It is quite a rise for a man who, like the Test opener Ed Cowan, left New South Wales having never felt assured of his place in the Blues’ XI.”I didn’t think I was any chance of playing for Australia this year at all, so thankfully I’ve performed reasonably well this year and the selectors have rewarded me,” Forrest said in Brisbane. “For the players, that’s all they can ask – if they perform then they get the opportunity. It is really good for the playing group to know that.”The way I’ve played for Queensland this year is just to scrap around and do it my way, so I thought I was going to do that yesterday, and thankfully it paid off. It is a team sport and we needed a win yesterday to continue our momentum, so it was nice to contribute. But it would’ve been nicer had I got 80-plus or a hundred, and got our side a win.”A popular team man in NSW even though his first-team opportunities were limited, Forrest has carved out a more permanent place at the Gabba, and now has the opportunity to do something similar at international level. Though always technically sound and mentally strong, Forrest’s confidence has lifted noticeably.”It’s just the environment [in Queensland], everyone’s so happy around here and they’re good blokes,” Forrest said. “Boof [Darren Lehmann, Bulls coach] has been a major contributing factor, he’s been really good not only for the group but me personally and my batting. It just fills you with confidence as well, and when you’re confident as a batsman you go out and play the way you want to play.”I think I am [a better player] now, I’ve made a few technical changes that have helped this year, but also it is just confidence and knowing you’re going to play every game. Playing every game allows you to learn and learning [while] playing first-class cricket is invaluable, so I’d say that’s probably the secret at the moment.”At the time of his selection, Forrest’s modest domestic limited-overs numbers were trotted out, but he rightly observed that his primary opportunities have so far come in the Sheffield Shield, while the more recent Twenty20 Big Bash League had shown he did not lack for shots.”I’ve just had more opportunity in the first-class stuff,” he said. “I had limited opportunities in the one-day stuff with NSW and I don’t think I played as well as I could in those games, so I like to think I can play all forms of the game. I think the Big Bash League was really good for me this year, allowed me to express myself a little bit and show that I can play the shorter forms.”As for first impressions of the Australian dressing room, Forrest felt welcomed, and was given plenty of strong and positive feedback from the captain Michael Clarke and the coach Mickey Arthur once his first match was completed.”I felt like my first day of school really when I walked in with Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke and all these superstars around me,” Forrest said. “But they’re really good – you realise they are good people and real good blokes; they make sure they look after young guys, so I felt right at home after the first five minutes.”