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Malcolm Gray, the outgoing president of the International Cricket Council, has said that he wishes more culprits had been caught in the matchfixing controversy. In an interview to The Melbourne Age, he implied that some of the cricket boards were too keen to protect their national sporting heroes.”One of the disappointments is that we didn’t get more scalps,” said Gray, “but it’s probably understandable because we and the anti-corruption unit don’t have any legislative power. We cannot march into somebody’s house and carry out a search or we cannot arrest people so we can only do it by investigation and by persuasion.””The other reason,” he continued, “is that there is a tendency to want to protect the sporting hero, and that’s [something] the fans, the public and I think some of the authorities tend to [do] as well.”It was an accusation that didn’t go down well with the Indian board (BCCI). Kishore Rungta, treasurer of the BCCI, and Jaywant Lele, former secretary, said in Mid-day that the Indian board never tried to conceal the identity of any cricketers."I don’t think the Indian cricket board, or any cricket board for that matter, has tried to protect the identity of any cricketer who was involved in the match-fixing scandal."Lele agreed: "The Indian board has brought to book all the culprits who were involved. I think Gray is just talking in the air, without any support or evidence to support his claims."Gray, who has just handed over charge of the ICC to Pakistan’s representative, Ehsan Mani, said that it was time to “draw a line in the sand” and move on. He did not think any more culprits would be uncovered.

Scorecard

Karu Jain and Jhulan Goswami, India’s stand-in captain, stitched together a 53-run fifth-wicket stand to help their side overcome Bangladesh in Dambulla and record a fourth-successive win in the Women’s Asia Cup.Chasing 161, India collapsed to 58 for 3, with Anagha Deshpande, Asha Rawat and Thirush Kamini falling on 18. Deshpande was bowled by Panna Ghosh while the other two were run-out. Priyanka Roy and Rumeli Dhar briefly steadied the innings by adding 30, before Roy became the third run-out victim. Dhar, however, could not build on her 39-ball 31 when she was caught by Ghosh off Shathira Jhatir. Jain and Goswami then stood firm to take India to safety, with Jain being the main aggressor, striking five boundaries.Earlier, Salma Khatun, the 17-year old Bangladesh captain, played a lone hand of 90 before her team folded for 160. Khatun’s knock, which took 140 balls and featured 20 fours, took her to third-spot in the run-getter’s list. Her decision to bat first, though, went awry as Bangladesh collapsed to 14 for 3, with legspinner Kamini claiming two of those wickets. Khatun then partnered Ghosh in a 64-run stand to get their innings back on track, but a Roy double-strike hampered their progress. Khatun kept up the fight and made the most of the little support she got before falling in the 48th over.
Scorecard
A fine all-round performance by Eshani Kaushalya, who top-scored with 44 before taking 3 for 25, took Sri Lanka to a 45-run win over Pakistan in Karunegala.Pakistan lost their openers early chasing 195, but captain Urooj Mumtaz, who scored a 106-ball 57, added runs with Sajjida Shah (27) to keep them in the hunt. They fell in quick succession – Shah was run-out while Mumtaz was dismissed by Kaushalya – and Pakistan then lost their last six wickets for 40, with Chamari Polgampola taking career-best figures of 4 for 26.Sri Lanka fell to 57 for 3 after being put in to bat, before captain Shashikala Siriwardene scored an attacking 34, which included seven fours, to keep them afloat. But Pakistan’s bowlers maintained a tight lease on the game, forcing Sri Lanka to 118 for 6. Kaushalya then changed the course of the innings with 44, and when she was eventually run-out in the 42nd over, Sri Lanka had progressed to 161. Mumtaz was the best bowler on view from Pakistan, taking four wickets with her legspin.

The Asian Cricket Council has set up its first ever Centre of Excellence in Dharamsala to help the development of budding players and coaches from the subcontinent, and a few Associate nations. This is another step in the ACC’s revival plans put into motion in October.It was only eight months ago that Ashraful Haq, the ACC CEO at the time, had said they would begin “winding down” operations, and that the 32-year old organisation would be disbanded in June. However, BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur came out with several proposals to keep the ACC running and this Centre of Excellence based in Dharamsala is home ground to Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association, where Thakur is president.”The cricket facility features modern indoor and outdoor training facilities and equipment that will allow coaches and sports staff to enhance the development of International cricketers, assisting them prepare for the demands of international competitions,” an ACC press release said.And its president Sidath Wettimuny added, “This will be a significant move in the effort of making the ACC a more dynamic, vibrant and robust body, which will help rapidly promote & develop the sport of cricket in the Asian region.”Thakur offered “full support of BCCI to this centre” and had earlier spoken of how India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh should send their ‘A’ teams to play in a tournament with Associate nations like Nepal, Afghanistan and Oman.Last week, the BCCI had signed an MoU allowing Afghanistan to use the Shahid Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex, about 40 km away from Delhi, as their home ground. Nepal had trained for the World T20 qualifier in Dharamsala as well, in the wake of the earthquakes in April. And in October, the ACC conducted a conference for 49 coaches from 18 countries in Bangladesh.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Given how Bangladesh were terrorised by the short ball in this Test, it was entirely appropriate that South Africa wrapped up the match and series with one. And unlike the five-wicket defeat in Mirpur, there was nothing remotely heroic about the innings-and-205-run capitulation in Chittagong, with a world record partnership between Graeme Smith and Neil McKenzieillustrating the huge chasm that still separates Bangladesh from the best practitioners of cricket’s most demanding form.When Mashrafe Mortaza couldn’t avoid fending one to the left of McKenzie at gully, it was the final act of a match that once again didn’t go into the fourth afternoon. With Aftab Ahmed unable to bat after a sickening injury on Sunday, South Africa needed only four more wickets to set theseal on a very satisfactory outing.An eighth-wicket partnership of 56 between Abdur Razzak, who remained defiant on 33, and Shahadat Hossain briefly halted the victory charge, but with Robin Peterson scalping an unexpected five-for, the result was never in doubt. Bangladesh managed a few half-century partnerships during the course of the Test, but the fact remained that their tally over twoinnings didn’t even come close to matching Smith and McKenzie.The batting frailty was all too evident at the start of the fourth day. Razzak’s periscope approach to batting resulted in a comical four over the wicketkeeper off Dale Steyn, and South Africa didn’t have very long to wait for the breakthrough. Peterson was aiming at the cracks from the outset, and Mushfiqur Rahim edged his first ball of the morning to Jacques Kallis at slip.Enter Mohammad Rafique to tremendous applause in his final Test innings. Two balls later, exit Rafique – a biff back to the bowler that Peterson was never going to drop. Shahadat, with a few sorties down the ground, and Razzak with his patented carves over slips added runs in a hurry, but the South Africans were amused rather than annoyed, and when Shahadat holed out to long-off to give Peterson number five, the Last Post could begin.South Africa now look to India, and a series that will really be a test of their mettle in subcontinent conditions. As for Bangladesh, they have three one-dayers to look forward to. The format suits their hit-and-miss batsmen, and they did hammer South Africa at the World Cup last year.Jamie Siddons just won’t be expecting any miracles in Tests, especially not with an FTP that barely gives them matches to iron out the many kinks that continue to bedevil their play at their highest level.

ScorecardLuke Wells battled more than two-and-a-half hours for 54•Getty Images

Somerset wrested back the initiative in dramatic style at the close of a rain-affected first day against Sussex. Resuming on 105 for 2 after the third of the day’s interruptions for rain, Sussex lost four more wickets as Somerset’s seam attack fully exploited the conditions, getting plenty of swing and finding movement off a wicket with grass left on it.Somerset had bowled tightly throughout the morning and afternoon but, despite two wickets in two balls from Lewis Gregory, saw countless deliveries beat the bat or drop just short of the slip cordon.The breakthrough came as Sussex were starting to edge in front after Luke Wells and Chris Nash had brought up a gritty 50 partnership in 23 overs. Craig Overton got a ball to cut back off the surface and trim Nash’s bails as the batsman was left in two minds whether to cut or leave.

New contracts for Gregory, Overtons and Bates

Somerset have acted to secure the services of three of their brightest talents on new three-year contracts. Lewis Gregory and twins Craig and Jamie Overton, who have all received England call-ups this year, have signed with the club until the end of 2018. Jamie has been invited to help England with their preparations ahead of this summer’s Ashes series and will meet up with the squad on Monday, where he will bowl in the nets ahead of the first Test in Cardiff.
Somerset have also extended the contract of wicketkeeper Michael Bates, who was released by Hampshire at the end of last season. Bates was originally signed by Somerset on a one-month deal and has already made an impact with the gloves. Matthew Maynard said that the challenge for Bates now was to score runs and the contract extension would give him the opportunity to do that.

Four overs later, Peter Trego struck in his opening over to end a two-and-a-half hour vigil from Wells, who hit an elegant 54 off 122 balls, frustrating the Somerset bowlers in between the showers.Wells lived dangerously early on. Almost run out without facing in the first over, he edged a number of boundaries through the slip cordon during the morning session before starting to score runs on both sides of the wicket as the afternoon went on. He admitted after close that it was a pitch he never felt comfortable on, with the rain delays meaning he had to play himself in each time.Trego struck again in his third over as Craig Cachopa played forward and got an edge through to Jim Allenby at first slip. Trego’s figures by this stage were 3-2-4-2. The momentum firmly shifted Somerset’s way as they claimed a fourth wicket towards the close of play when Ben Brown edged Alfonso Thomas to Trescothick at slip for 9.Somerset had won the toss and put Sussex in. After surviving a tight, but never penetrating, opening spell, Wells and opening partner Ed Joyce started to look increasingly comfortable and score runs on both sides of the wicket before the first of the day’s interruptions for rain at 47 for 0 from 15 overs.One over after the resumption, Gregory struck with consecutive deliveries. First, Joyce got an edge through to Michael Bates behind the stumps, attempting to pull, for 28. Matt Machan then prodded at a good-length ball and edged to Allenby.It was a much tighter spell from Somerset, which saw them concede 25 runs from 8.2 overs before the rain returned with some force to bring an early lunch and leave pools of water on the covers and puddles on the outfield.Somerset’s director of cricket, Matthew Maynard, was impressed with the way his charges had gone about their business. “The way that we bowled today was very reminiscent of the way we bowled against Hampshire,” he said. “We were very disciplined with good skills and the ball was swinging but they didn’t try to get too greedy and try too many things, we just kept on trying to hit our lines.”I don’t think that we got our rewards in the first session but just said to keep on hitting good areas and going past the bat and hopefully find the edge which is what happened and we are in a good position after day one.”Wells pointed to the quality of batting still to come in the Sussex line-up and said that if they could scrap out a total between 200 and 250, it would be very competitive on this surface.

Match facts

January 5, 2016
Start time 1100 local (2200 GMT)Tom Latham will be keen to impress after posting middling scores in the series so far•AFP

Big Picture

Following two humbling defeats at the beginning of the series, would anyone have given Sri Lanka a chance of finishing the series level? With a bounce in their step since Nelson, and a number of injuries having eroded New Zealand, Sri Lanka might have a nearly-even shot at finishing 2-2. Having defeated only West Indies in the past 12 months, a drawn away-series will count as something of a moral victory.When Brendon McCullum aggravated a long-standing back injury by skidding into the advertising hoardings, New Zealand had hoped the pain would pass, and that they would get their captain back before the end of the series. Coach Mike Hesson has now said McCullum’s condition is more serious than initially thought. As such, he is unlikely to play in the deciding ODI. Kane Williamson is set to take the reins again.Though Tim Southee and Doug Bracewell are both out of contention, but through Matt Henry, Adam Milne, Trent Boult and Mitchell McClenaghan, the hosts still possess a pace battery capable of exposing Sri Lanka. They may be hampered slightly by a Bay Oval surface that is known to be a little sluggish though, and the less-heralded spin-bowlers – Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi – may have roles to play.

Form guide

(last five matches, most recent first)

 New Zealand: LWWLW
Sri Lanka: WLLWW

In the spotlight

Tom Latham may not have played any matches in the series if the top order had all been fit, but injuries to Williamson, then McCullum have enabled his inclusion – probably for all five matches. He was steady in the Test series, but has so far been only middling in the ODIs – with a high-score of 42 in the third game, in Nelson. A good score in the final game will help signal to the selectors that he is indeed the man to replace McCullum at the top of the order, once McCullum retires at the end of the home season.Once Sri Lanka’s frustrating, unfulfilled talent, Chamara Kapugedera has had something of a rebirth in the past year, in which he played two excellent middle-order innings in Colombo T20 internationals. In Christchurch, he played two typically aggravating innings, in which he hit promising lovely early boundaries, but fell before he had made a significant contribution. He didn’t have the chance to bat in either of the Nelson games, but he will know that the back-end of this tour is crucial for him. Strong performances here will likely see him through to Sri Lanka’s World T20 squad.

Teams news

New Zealand’s major selection conundrum will be which seamers to play. Bracewell has left the squad and Boult has been brought in. McClenaghan may be the man to miss out.New Zealand (probable): 1 Tom Latham, 2 Martin Guptill, 3 Kane Williamson (capt.), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Henry Nicholls, 6 Mitchell Santner, 7 Luke Ronchi (wk), 8 Trent Boult, 9 Adam Milne, 10 Matt Henry, 11 Ish SodhiWith Thisara Perera having delivered two decent overs in the rained-out match in Nelson, Sri Lanka may consider playing him in Mount Maunganui as well – though Nuwan Pradeep is the more aggressive bowling option. The top order is likely to stay in tact. Jeffrey Vandersay failed to contend with a slippery ball in the fourth game, but will probably retain his place.Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 2 Danushka Gunathilaka , 3 Lahiru Thirimanne, 4 Dinesh Chandimal (wk), 5 Angelo Mathews (capt.), 6 Milinda Siriwardana, 7 Chamara Kapugedara, 8 Nuwan Kulasekara, 9 Jeffrey Vandersay, 10 Dushmantha Chameera, 11 Nuwan Pradeep/Thisara Perera

Pitch and conditions

The strip at Mount Maunganui has generally played slow and low, and has not been conducive to high scores in the past. The weather forecast suggests a full, uninterrupted match will be played. It is expected to be cloudy but dry, with the temperature rising to 21 degrees.

Stats and trivia

• New Zealand have played two ODIs at Bay Oval, against South Africa, and lost both. The highest total in these matches was 282 – the other three scores were all below 250.
• Chamara Kapugedara – a specialist batsman – has played 78 ODI innings, and averages 21.70. Before this series he had last played an ODI for Sri Lanka in August 2012.

Quotes

“Brendon’s really struggling with his injury. He hasn’t progressed as well as we would have thought, so he’s probably unlikely to play tomorrow. Long-term he will get some further assessment. He’s not playing the T20s, so he’ll get a decent break before Pakistan arrive, and certainly before Australia arrive.”

India Under-19 were dismissed shortly before stumps on the third day for378 off 83.2 overs in the first ‘Test’ at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai.The tourists were three for no loss in the second innings, needing afurther 348 runs for victory.England Under-19 had been dismissed for 285 in 109.3 overs in themorning session. The visitors added only four more runs before they were bowledout, taking a slender 28-run lead into the second innnings. VidyuthSivaramakrishnan took the wicket, that of Monty Panesar. Justin Bishop remained unbeaten.Indian openers Gautam Gambhir and Vinayak Mane came good in the secondinnings. Both hammered the medium pacers, piling on 58 runs in 13 overs.Gambhir displayed his explosive strokes in a brief stint at thecrease. He could not carry on to convert it into a big knock when he wasdismissed off the last ball of the 13th over. Kyle Hogg trapped him legbefore for 29.Mane was lucky as he was dropped three times. Monty Panesar failed to latch on to a mistimed pull shot at mid-on, with Mane on 24, and in the 29th over, Bell dropped Mane in the slips off Pattison. He was finally dismissed for 93 when Hogg held on to a catch off Pattison. He had hit 13 fours and a six in his 99-ball innings.The first session of the day produced 127 runs for the loss of one wicketin 32 overs. Ishan Ganda and Mane added 70 runs for the second wicket in 19overs. Ganda was lucky as he was dropped in the 29th over at backward pointby Nikki Peng off the medium pace of Pattison. Soon after lunch, Pattison enticed Ganda with a similar delivery and the batsman obliged with a similar stroke but this time Peng held on to the catch. Ganda was dismissed for 19 off 66 balls with one boundary.Gnaneshwar Rao, a century-maker in his last match, was soon out, trying to drive but succeeding only in returning a catch to Pattison to fall for tworuns. The top scorer of the first innings, Alind Naidu came out to bat and unleashed a barrage of wristy strokes. He raced on to 30 off 42 balls with four boundaries. He played two consecutive late cuts despite Bell being in the slips. But he holed out to Bell trying the same stroke on the third occasion.The visitors enjoyed the tea break as they had both the explosive Naidu andMane back in the pavilion. The Indian score was 243 for five wickets.Little did they know that the Indians had other plans. In the post-teasession, skipper Ajay Ratra and Kashinath Khadkikar turned the tide infavour of the hosts with a 141-run partnership off 24.5 overs for the sixthwicket. Ratra dominated as he raced to 94 from 92 balls. The partnership was broken when Khadkikar mistimed a drive to give Robert Ferley a return catch. Khadkikar walked back with 65 runs off 98 balls and seven boundaries to his name.Ratra became the second batsman to just miss his century when he chased an outswinger from McGarry and Mark Wallace behind the stumps latched on to the catch. Ratra had hit 13 boundaries. The Indian tail wagged as Dharmichand scored 26 runs off 32 balls including two fours. The hosts ended their innings when Siddarth Trivedi was taken by Pattison off Ferley.Pattison was the most economical bowler, bagging three for 32. Ferley picked up three for 93 with his spinners. McGarry and Kyle Hogg chipped in with two wickets each.The visitors faced one over from Vidyut and finished on three without loss.The England fielding had been poor. They dropped as many as six catchesduring the day. Panesar was guilty of not guarding the fenceeffectively. In fact, Panesar had a long and hard day in the field as hestruggled to gather the ball. The batsmen took on his throwing arm as theycollected extra singles off his throws from the boundary.

Shane Warne has announced his retirement from first-class cricket while ending his eight-year association with the county side Hampshire. Warne, 38, had been a regular with Hampshire since 2000 and led them from 2004. Dimitri Mascarenhas will succeed Warne as captain.Both sides reached a mutual agreement after prolonged discussions between Warne and Rod Bransgrove, the Hampshire chairman. Warne’s diverse business interests, his participation in the Indian Premier League (IPL) – where he is captain-coach of the Rajasthan Royals – and his need to spend time with his children in Australia meant he would not be able to commit time to Hampshire over the coming seasons.”This was not an easy decision to make,” Warne said. “But due to some exciting business opportunities I had to make this call. My eight years with Hampshire have been a wonderful experience, memories that will last with me forever, and likewise the friendships that have been formed at the club.”Unfortunately I am retiring from all first-class cricket but will participate in the IPL with the Jaipur franchise as captain and coach. Good luck to all involved at the Rose Bowl. I wish you all the best.” Warne will be joined in the Rajasthan Royals by the Hampshire players Mascarenhas, one of his best friends, and Shane Watson, the Australian allrounder.”I know this will be a major disappointment to many fans of both Hampshire and Shane but, after much discussion and soul-searching, it has become clear to both of us that Shane can no longer make the commitment required to continue to lead Hampshire,” Bransgrove said. “After the commitment and loyalty he has shown to this club over the past few years, I can only wish him all the success and happiness he deserves.”Hampshire Cricket has been hugely privileged to have enjoyed the unstinting loyalty of this living legend since 2000. The most effective and entertaining bowler of all time, Shane was also a brilliant leader and strategist. As our captain, his influence was instrumental in the development of Hampshire into one of the country’s top sides and he enriched the game wherever he played.”Warne took 276 first-class wickets at an average of 25.59 for the county and scored 2040 runs. He retired as Test cricket’s leading wicket-taker after the Ashes early last year, but Muttiah Muralitharan surpassed the mark of 708. Warne is undoubtedly one of the game’s greats and in 2000 was named among the five Cricketers of the Century

Canterbury posted their second win over Central Districts in a week and had Michael Davidson to thank for the success in Christchurch, which pushed them to the top of the table. Playing his third first-class game, Davidson captured nine wickets for the match and his first half-century as his side sealed an eight-wicket, three-day victory.Half-centuries to Peter Ingram (83), Bevan Griggs (55) and Timothy Lythe (52) pushed Central Districts to 226, but they managed only 148 in the second innings as Davidson added a career-best 5 for 39 to his 4 for 55 on the opening day. Michael Mason, the New Zealand bowler, hit 39 not out to extend the home team’s target to 89 and then took the only two wickets to fall. Davidson’s 56 and 82 not out from Kruger Van Wyk were essential in getting Canterbury to 286 and they did not let go off their first-innings advantage.The previous leaders Wellington slumped to an embarrassing two-day defeat to Otago after their first-innings 76 was followed by 150 in Dunedin. Wellington needed 267 to make the home team bat again and the total was a long way from their reach as Bradley Scott picked up 4 for 36 and Nathan McCullum captured 3 for 20 to end the match before its scheduled halfway point.After their successful first day, which was sealed with James McMillan’s four wickets, Otago showed there were no problems with the pitch by making 342. The opener Craig Cumming fell seven short of a century and was well supported by Aaron Redmond in a stand of 134. Redmond finished with 56 while Greg Todd, the No. 3, added 48. Michael Burns and Charlie Shreck limited the damage with three wickets each, but Wellington were soon in more trouble when they batted for a second time. They stay on 24 points while Otago move closer to the top three with 16.It took six rounds but the defending champions Northern Districts finally have their first win on the board after beating Auckland by seven wickets in Gisborne. In a low-scoring match Gareth Hopkins was the only man to threaten a big score, before he fell for 99 in the first innings as Auckland reached 186.Peter McGlashan (51) helped Northern Districts secure a handy lead as they made 283 despite Colin de Grandhomme’s 4 for 65. Another Hopkins half-century – he made 52 – could not mask Auckland’s troubles and Tim Southee’s seven wickets for the match left the home side needing only 101 for victory. James Marshall and Daniel Flynn guided them home early on the fourth day.

Sri Lanka don’t have a mystery spinner. That should be enough to stop the press, but that is not the end of the story. The cricketing shrewdness of Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara has not come close to being replaced. Even Angelo Mathews and Lasith Malinga are not there and Tillakaratne Dilshan will miss the opening game of this three-T20I series. Their coach has only just taken charge. India are thus the favourites going into this World T20-preparation series, but MS Dhoni knows all too well the vagaries of the format. He knows a player can change the game in 10 balls. Win it or even lose it.”What really happens in this format is, the difference between the sides is very narrow,” Dhoni said. “What it boils down to is how good your match winners are playing. You can have only one big hitter in the side but if it’s his day, he can take the game away from you. And it can happen in just 10 or 12 balls.”India have to find a mix between doing what is best for this series and what is best for the World T20. In Virat Kohli’s absence, batting Suresh Raina at his beloved No. 3 is best for this series, but Dhoni is also looking at what is best for World T20.”I think it will be slightly better if Raina bats at the position that he will most likely bat in the World Cup,” Dhoni said. “It will give him that exposure. Also we are not a team that plays a lot of T20Is. Usually we play one game in a bilateral series. So this gives him an opportunity to expose him to No. 4 for a consistent period of time. The opportunity is there to make him bat at three and use some other batter [at four] but I think it will be more appropriate if he bats at No. 4 and gets adjusted.”One of the targets is to watch out against the fatigue and not peak too early, although some might say their 3-0 win in Australia was their peak. “We have quite a few targets in mind,” Dhoni said. “Winning games is important. But at the same time what will be more crucial is, we have to keep everyone fit. It’s almost the same 15 that will play till the World T20. It’s important to keep everyone fit so that the best XI is always available for selection. That will be the key factor.”Dhoni is also aware perhaps that India’s recent record in limited-overs cricket on the slower pitches of Asia hasn’t been great. The batsmen haven’t been as dominant as before and added to that is the slightly unusual sand-based outfield in Pune. It is slower than usual and high balls just sit in the ground. It is just as well that the straight boundaries are short, because during the practice sessions out in the middle, balls hit in the air lost all sting upon hitting the turf.Pandurang Salgaocar, the chief groundsman, said this was a normal outfield and that the well-timed shots will travel. If he is wrong, it may well provide the much-needed balance between bat and ball if only for just one game.Practically in the middle of nowhere, seemingly halfway to Mumbai, in conditions they have not played much IPL cricket in, India will begin their home stretch to the World T20. Shikhar Dhawan at the top of the order, Yuvraj Singh at No. 6 and Hardik Pandya as the allrounder will be the unknowns they will want to know more about.For Dhoni, though, the Maharashtra Cricket Association stadium will now be his IPL home and he has already found comfort factors. Even before he went to the nets, he made his way to the much talked-about dog kennel. Twenty-four dogs here are part of the security team. Dhoni even wanted to adopt a golden retriever back in the day. As he waited on, the dog, Prince, settled down and made this ground his home, Dhoni might not get to take the dog away. Pune, though, has certainly taken to Dhoni.