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Scorecard

India’s opening batsmen blitzed the West Indies before their bowlers and fielders ripped the heart out of the West Indies’ attempt to reach India’s colossal 284. India now face England in the semi-finals on Wednesday.Gaurav Dhiman (74) and Cheteshwar Pujara (97) added 110 from just 14 overs as India set off at a breakneck pace.And although Leon Johnson’s men restored order in the second half of the innings – opening bowler Javon Searles captured 6 for 68 – the final total of 284 for 9 was always likely to be too many for the West Indies.Dhiman and Pujara came out with all guns blazing after Ravikant Shukla won the toss and, against bowlers and fielders that looked off the pace, they raced along. The tone was set by the first ball of the match, by Searles. It went for five wides down the leg-side – one of 15 he bowled and 28 the West Indies conceded out of 33 extras – and after just one over India had 12 runs on the board.West Indies may have been suffering from their exertions the previous day when they beat South Africa, in energy-sapping conditions, to book their Super League quarter-final place. Whatever the reason, Dhiman, in particular, took full advantage. Three fours came in Kemar Roach’s third over, which cost 15, to bring up India’s 50 in just six overs. Johnson, in a bid to regain control of the match, turned to spin in just the eighth over.The change in pace made little difference and, after 10 overs, India had raced to 83 without loss; Dhiman and Pujara had registered only the second century opening stand of the tournament. They had posted the other one too, a brilliant 147 against Namibia last Monday.They were eventually separated when Dhiman was stumped by William Perkins and Pujara was then joined by Rohit Sharma who continued the assault. Sharma made his second successive fifty, scoring exactly 50 from 57 balls with six fours, and at 209 for 1 with 15 overs left, India looked set for a score of around 320.But Sharma’s dismissal led to a minor batting slide, and only Ravindra Jadeja (10) made double figures. Pujara eventually fell just three runs short of his hundred to Searles.The West Indies’ run-chase never got going. Their opener, Andre Fletcher, top-scored with 44 but the only other players to pass 20 were Searles (22) and Narine (29*). Vijaykumar Yomahesh (4 for 25) and Dhiman (3 for 27) ripped the top order apart, helped by brilliant fielding. Abu Nechim Ahmed’s flying leap at mid-on to catch Gajanand Singh was just one of the highlights of their effort.”We won the game in the first hour of our fielding effort,” Venkatesh Prasad, the India coach, said afterwards. “We were aware of their strengths as a batting side as we watched footage of them the night before the game.”We bowled to our strengths and stuck to the basics and that catch at mid-on will be one of the catches of the tournament.”

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.

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.”

Ricky Ponting could become the first player to win the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy twice after he was shortlisted with three other players for the ICC’s major prize. Ponting will compete with Kevin Pietersen, Mohammad Yousuf and Shivnarine Chanderpaul for the Cricketer of the Year award, which will be announced in Johannesburg on Monday.The four players were selected from an extended list of 12, while the nominations for the Test Player of the Year and ODI Player of the Year have also been cut to four. Ponting is the only man with a chance of winning all three titles, which was a reward for another superb year in which he made 1185 ODI runs at 51.52 and 576 Test runs at 82.28. He also led Australia to triumphs in the World Cup, Champions Trophy and the Ashes.Pietersen, Yousuf and Muttiah Muralitharan are also up for the Test player award, with Yousuf’s record of five centuries and 944 runs at 94.40 from his six Tests making him hard to beat. However, Muralitharan had a stellar year with 43 wickets at 11.60 and Pietersen scored 1255 runs at 57.04.The ODI title is an Australian-dominated affair with Ponting, Glenn McGrath, Matthew Hayden and Jacques Kallis the four nominees. Hayden’s remarkable return to the Australian line-up brought 1368 runs at 62.18, Kallis scored 1149 runs at 60.47, while McGrath enjoyed his farewell year with 50 wickets at 19.34.
Cricketer of the Year
Shivnarine Chanderpaul (WI)
Kevin Pietersen (Eng)
Ricky Ponting (Aus)
Mohammed Yousuf (Pak)
Test Player
Muttiah Muralitharan (SL)
Kevin Pietersen (Eng)
Ricky Ponting (Aus)
Mohammad Yousuf (Pak)
ODI Player
Matthew Hayden (Aus)
Jacques Kallis (SA)
Glenn McGrath (Aus)
Ricky Ponting (Aus)
Emerging Player
Ravinder Bopara (Eng)
Shakib Al Hasan (Bang)
Shaun Tait (Aus)
Ross Taylor (NZ)
Captain of the Year
Mahela Jayawardene (SL)
Ricky Ponting (Aus)
Associate ODI Player of the Year
Ashish Bagai (Can)
Thomas Odoyo (Ken)
Ryan ten Doeschate (Neth)
Steve Tikolo (Ken)
Umpire of the Year
Mark Benson
Steve Bucknor
Simon Taufel
Women’s Cricketer of the Year
Jhulan Goswami (Ind)
Lisa Sthalekar (Aus)
Claire Taylor (Eng)

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

A couple of Sri Lanka batting collapses turned a potentially cracking contest into a one-sided affair, as Australia wrapped up a comprehensive seven-wicket win. The move to rest Chaminda Vaas and Muttiah Muralitharan weakened Sri Lanka’s bowling but it was the unchanged batting line up that faltered on a true surface in Grenada.Australia were clinical, seizing the openings without fail and stamping their authority when it counted. They lost the toss but made full use of the early swing before witnessing a well-crafted 140-run stand between Mahela Jayawardene and Chamara Silva for the fourth wicket. Nathan Bracken gave little away, ending with 4 for 19 from 9.4 overs, and received good support from Glenn McGrath and Brad Hogg. With the stage set, Australia’s batsmen thrived as Ricky Ponting and Andrew Symonds sealed the contest with emphatic half-centuries.Sri Lanka’s batting has followed a familiar pattern in this tournament: top-order fumble followed by revival followed by late-order stumble. At least two batsmen have managed to pass 50 in every match, yet rarely has there been a powerful all-round effort. Against South Africa, they slid from 195 for 5 to 209 all out and it cost them. Against England they slipped from 175 for 3 to 235 all out and it so nearly cost them. Today, the decline was from 167 for 3 in the 38th over to 226, a collapse that effectively ended the contest.The fine partnership between Jayawardene and Silva was lost in a rash of poor strokes by the rest. On a good batting track, with the Australian spinners unable to extract much purchase, they stabilised the innings. They had little trouble in rotating the strike and kept the rate close to four an over at the 30-over mark.But with their dismissals, both to Hogg’s wrist spin within two overs, Sri Lanka lost their way. Between the 40th and 45th overs they could muster just 13 runs for the loss of three more wickets. The slump that followed was never really arrested and it was only thanks to a 34-run stand between Farveez Maharoof and Malinga Bandara, in the side for Murali, that lifted them past 200.

Bracken led the bowling effort with an outstanding spell. He removed both the left-handed openers early, one with an away-swinger and another with a ball that jagged back in, before returning towards the end to stifle the lower order. Sanath Jayasuriya couldn’t counter a Bracken in-dipper. Replays suggested the ball might have been a tad high but Bracken must be complimented for keeping a tight line. He delivered a peach of a delivery soon after, inducing an edge off Upul Tharanga that flew straight to first slip. Ponting started to go for the catch but stopped just in time for Matthew Hayden, at first slip, to pouch a controlled take.Hayden set the tone for the chase, using his feet against the medium-pacers and biffing them over cover and midwicket. A pace attack comprising Dilhara Fernando, Maharoof and Nuwan Kulasekara made an honest attempt to keep things tight, and even forced an airy waft from Adam Gilchrist early on, which was dropped by Russel Arnold at short extra cover. However, they couldn’t sustain the pressure and Hayden’s 41 contained five fours and two big sixes while Gilchrist was a bit more circumspect during his 49-ball 30.Arnold made amends with the ball, snaffling both openers in quick succession, forcing Hayden to under-edge before trapping Gilchrist lbw. Ponting, though, controlled the rest of the innings and didn’t have much to worry about once Symonds began imposing himself. Ponting’s was a finely constructed innings, angling the spinners behind the wicket and nudging the singles.His sensible partnership with Michael Clarke, with both using their feet confidently, allowed them to shrug off the loss of the openers. Symonds arrived with 101 needed and crashed five fours and two sixes in his power-packed 63. None of the Sri Lankan bowlers was allowed to settle and even the half-chances (close run-outs and stumpings) didn’t go their way. Ponting eased to his fourth 50-plus score of the tournament and finished it off with a lofted straight six, a record 29th in World Cups. The stamp of authority that the shot carried told the story of the day.

Ramnaresh Sarwan has praised Chris Gayle for the way he handled the leadership of the West Indies team in the recent series of limited-overs matches in England and Ireland. Gayle was appointed to lead the West Indies side after Sarwan injured his shoulder in a fall during the second Test against England and had to return home.”I think he was really outstanding, and you have to commend Chris for the way he handled the team during the ODI series,” Sarwan said at the launch of the Digicel youth coaching clinics at the Cave Hill campus of the University of the West Indies. “Obviously, he was under a little bit of pressure from the West Indies Cricket Board, and the way he came out showed his maturity, and I thought everyone supported him well which is really good to see.”Though the selection committee had picked Gayle to captain the limited-overs side, the executive committee of the WICB ignored his nomination, and instead chose Daren Ganga, who had led the Test side in the absence of Sarwan. An emergency meeting of all the directors of the WICB then overturned the decision of the executive committee, and Gayle responded by leading the side to a 2-1 series win over England and to the top of the table in a quadrangular series in Ireland.Sarwan noted that Gayle’s “super cool” demeanour more often than not belied the ability and qualities that his team-mate possesses. “When you look at Chris the individual, lots of people have a lot to say about him and his body language on and off the field,” Sarwan said. “But it just goes to show that you should never judge a book by its cover. I think he has shown his commitment to West Indies cricket and the public should not really judge an individual who has wholeheartedly supported West Indies cricket.”Sarwan joins Gayle and Denesh Ramdin in Barbados for the first in the series of Digicel coaching clinics that will take place throughout the region over the next three-and-a-half weeks.

Despite that traumatic defeat in the second Test at Adelaide last week, England’s captain, Andrew Flintoff, believes his team are capable of making history when the crucial third Test gets underway at the WACA tomorrow.”This Perth Test is huge,” Flintoff told reporters on the eve of the match. “We’re very proud of what we’ve achieved as a team in the last three or four years and we want to carry on creating history as a team. We are very much aware that we would be creating history if we did come back into the series and it’s something we desperately want to do.”No English side has ever come back from 2-0 down in an Ashes series, and it has only been done once in the history of the contest – by Don Bradman’s Australians in 1936-37. Even so, Flintoff called on his side to harness the same resolve they had shown in recent seasons, which – when the dust has settled – are sure to be remembered as some of the finest performances by any England teams in history.There was the Ashes triumph in 2005, of course, which needs no further mention here – least of all because the “A-word” has been banned in the Australian dressing-room. But since Flintoff became the heartbeat of England’s team in the winter of 2003-04, they have won in the Caribbean for the first time in 36 years, in South Africa for the first time in 40, and until their defeat in Pakistan last winter, had won six series in a row, including all seven Tests of the 2004 summer.A turnaround on this tour, however, would top the lot. “I don’t think we need any more motivation,” said Flintoff. “We’re in Australia playing an Ashes series and for all of us now it’s probably the biggest Test of our careers. Everyone is up for it in the dressing-room, because to come back into this series now would be the ultimate.”It’s a very proud team and we want to give a good account of ourselves,” he added. “We came close in Adelaide but in this game we’ve got to go one further. This Perth Test is huge. Ideally we need a win and, if not, a draw and then the last two [Tests] will look after themselves. This game we have to look at almost in isolation and hit them hard.””We’ve had to get Adelaide out of our system,” said Flintoff. “We were probably in shock at Adelaide and then two days later it sunk in. A lot of good things came out of the Test but for two hours we lost our way and lost the Test. It just shows you can’t do that playing against Australia.”

Flintoff singled out four performers at Adelaide for special praise – Paul Collingwood, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell and Matthew Hoggard – but it is his own performance as captain, batsman and strike bowler that will be the most pivotal to England’s fortunes. To that end, there has been much concern about the state of his injured ankle, but Flintoff insisted that he was fit and ready to bowl flat out.”My ankle is fine,” he said. “I bowled in the nets yesterday, but I haven’t bowled today. After my surgery I probably naively thought everything would be fine and I’d get no pain ever again in my life. But playing back-to-back Test matches is tough. I’ve not done it for a while and I did get some discomfort.”I had it checked out and I’ve bowled since – in the last innings of the last Test and in the nets here – so it’s not something I’m concerned about. We’ve tried to limit the overs I bowl in a day for a period of time now, but that’s dictated by the situation in the game. I’ve always been a willing bowler and I’ll carry on doing that.”After a few days off to recover from the shock of Adelaide, Flintoff was adamant that his team was ready for their big challenge. “After the loss it was a little bit flat, but the team has been great throughout,” he said. “There is still that confidence and the calmness which we’ve had all along on this trip. It’s a side full of character and that’s going to have to come out in this Test.”Apart from the defeats I’ve enjoyed the trip,” he added. “I think all the lads have. When you lose Test matches you will get criticism and that’s something I’m prepared to take. I’ve had it before and I’m sure I’ll have it again. I’m happy in what I’m doing and I’ve given the job everything I’ve got and I can rest easy in that.”

Drama unfolded at Dharamshala as the Plate Group match between Himachal Pradesh and Tripura was called off after officials of two groups, claiming to be actual representatives of the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HCA), traded charges minutes before the match.It was a bizarre situation in on the morning of the game after the team announced by the HCA, headed by Anurag Thakur, entered the stadium along with the visiting Tripura team and locked all the entry points, preventing the entry of the other HCA side, headed by Rajender Zar, into the stadium. The Supreme Court-appointed election observer had named Zar the authorised representative from the state to take part in the BCCI elections on November 29.Zar is also a BCCI member and a supporter of the Sharad Pawar group, who triumphed in the recently-concluded elections, while Thakur has the backing of the Jagmohan Dalmiya group. Narendra Menon, the match referee, after consultations with the BCCI secretary, asked the district authorities to allow the entry the Himachal team announced by the Zar group to entry the stadium so that the match could start.However, Menon called off the match after vice-president of the Zar group, Vikas Thakur, alleged that the officials of the old HCA had sprinkled water on the pitch, which had been damaged. Menon also added that it was up to the BCCI to decide whether the match should be awarded to Himachal or Tripura.

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

Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lankan captain, is looking forward to a disciplined performance from his bowlers in the remaining qualifying matches of the Champions Trophy after making a winning start.Sri Lanka beat Bangladesh by 37 runs in the opening qualifier under lights here on Saturday, but their bowling left a lot to be desired. They conceded 36 extras, the second-highest contributor in Bangladesh’s total of 265 for 9, after posting a challenging 302 for 8. Their bowlers sent down 13 wides and six no-balls.”We did not play our A-class game and there are certain areas where we have to improve and we will do that in remaining games,” said Jayawardene. Sri Lanka play Zimbabwe at Ahmedabad on October 10 and defending champions West Indies on October 14 at Mumbai in their last two qualifying matches. The top two sides will advance to the main draw that features world champions Australia, England, India, South Africa, New Zealand and Pakistan.Jayawardene said his team did not perform up to the mark in the opening game because they had not played much international cricket in recent months. They played their last full one-day international three months ago. “We didn’t play a smart game, especially in the second half of their innings but we have not played many one-dayers recently and that was one of the reasons why we were not able to perform to our potential.”He didn’t blame the dew for his bowlers’ below-par performance when they fielded under lights at the Punjab Cricket Association stadium. “The dew came on only around 8.30pm and by that time the spinners had nearly bowled their overs,” he said. “We have to expect such things in day-night matches. I think it is good that we fielded in the evening. It will give us an idea what to expect in remaining matches.”Habibul Bashar, the Bangladesh captain, defended his decision to field first after winning the toss, saying his bowlers failed to make the most of conditions in early stages. “It was a good toss to win,” he said. “There was grass on the wicket, but we didn’t put the ball in the right areas in the opening 10 overs.”Seamers Mashrafe Mortaza, Syed Rasel and Farhad Reza failed to get early wickets and went on to concede 188 runs in 28 overs. “In the end, the target proved too high for us,” said Bashar, whose team still managed to post their highest-ever total against Sri Lanka in 18 one-day internationals.Jayawardene, however, said he would have batted first had he won the toss. “It was a good wicket to bat on. I think it is always better to set a target when you play against teams like Bangladesh.”Bangladesh will now meet the West Indies on October 11 and Zimbabwe on October 13 at Jaipur.