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The 30-year-old batter hasn’t been a regular in the longest format, having played the last of his eight Tests in December 2018

Madushka Balasuriya08-Jan-2022Danushka Gunathilaka has retired from Test cricket at the age of 30, Sri Lanka Cricket has made public, confirming that the batter “will now be focusing on the shorter formats”. The update comes close on the heels of another 30-year-old batter, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, announcing his decision to quit all international cricket.Gunathilaka’s call to quit the longest format is unsurprising. He hasn’t played a Test since 2018, with his eight appearances bringing him 299 runs. He hit two half-centuries, with a best of 61. His limited-overs career, however, has been more fruitful. In 44 ODIs, he has scored 1520 runs at an average of 36.19, while in T20Is, he has 568 runs in 30 matches at a strike rate of 121.62.Those numbers might have been a bit higher had it not been for Gunathilaka’s frequent run-ins with the SLC over disciplinary issues. Since his international debut towards the end of 2015, Gunathilaka has served three separate suspensions, the latest of which came last year for breaching biobubble protocols – along with Kusal Mendis and Niroshan Dickwella – while on tour in England. That earned the three of them one-year bans, which, though, were lifted yesterday, six months early. He had previously been suspended for breaking a team curfew and showing an indifferent attitude to training.The fact that he remained in the national frame despite these infractions speaks of the left-hander’s potential. He most recently scored a blistering half-century in the Lanka Premier League final, and he had top-scored in the tournament’s inaugural edition in 2020 too.As for Rajapaksa, he had cited “familial obligations” for his decision to end his career after just a bit over two years at the international level, in which he played five ODIs and 18 T20Is.

Club confirm departure of Jared Warner to Gloucestershire on damp second day

ECB Reporters Network07-Sep-2020The second day of Yorkshire’s final-round Bob Willis Trophy clash between against Leicestershire was washed out without a ball bowled at Headingley, damaging their hopes of reaching the competition’s five-day Lord’s final.Second in the North Group and five points behind Derbyshire prior to this fixture, Yorkshire need to finish top of the group and then as one of the best two group winners to advance to the showpiece final on September 23.Heavy morning rain forced an early lunch at 12.15pm before another burst meant the postponement of a planned 2pm start. Umpires Peter Hartley and James Middlebrook later inspected in dry but gloomy conditions shortly after 4pm and deemed the outfield unplayable.Only 60.3 overs have been bowled across the two days, with Yorkshire 36 for 2 in reply to Leicestershire’s first-innings 124.That means that so far across the White Rose county’s three home games in the North Group, they have lost a little over 450 overs combined.”It’s been frustrating for the last three games if we’re being honest,” Richard Pyrah, Yorkshire’s bowling coach, said. “We won the first two games away with the next three at home, where we play well. But we’ve not played more than two days in either of the last two games added to the rain this week.”We’ve had a good start in this game and wanted to drive it home. We’ve still got time, fingers crossed, so we’ll see what happens. With the way the league tables are, we’ll have to bat well tomorrow to give ourselves a chance. If we do bat well, we’ll still be in a really good position to win the game on day four.”There’s a little bit in the pitch, and it’s been under cover all day today, so we’ll have to work hard tomorrow morning to set it up.”Meanwhile, Yorkshire have confirmed the departure of young seamer Jared Warner, who has joined Gloucestershire, following the switch made by Josh Shaw last year.”It feels amazing to have signed for Gloucestershire and I can’t wait to get started,” Warner said. “As a bowler my main strength is my pace, and I’d like to think this can complement the current Gloucestershire bowling attack nicely.”It wasn’t an easy decision to leave Yorkshire, but I feel the opportunity to go to Gloucestershire and hopefully play regular first-team cricket there is the best decision for myself and the development of my career going forward.”

Both teams are coming off losses in their most recent match, and both have six points from five games so far

The Preview by Varun Shetty07-Apr-20196:47

Can hosts Kings XI tame Sunrisers?

Big picture

Sunrisers Hyderabad have the reputation of being a model franchise. They also possess a middle order that has long had the reputation of being their weakest link. Heading into their next fixture against Kings XI Punjab at Mohali, these two dimensions will be in focus: will the franchise’s ethos, built on balance and positivity, help them come back from a humiliating 40-run defeat chasing 137, like it has in the past? Or will we see a more deadpan reaction, a reshuffle and fortification of the batting beyond their blockbuster opening pair? They’re close to the halfway point of seven matches in the season, the fixtures around which the tone for the final stages is set – that frenzied, volatile period during which certain teams specialise in sneaking in and rattling the favourites.Kings XI have often been that team in the IPL, but have begun this season looking much better than a late-doors spoilsport. They have six points from five games, but have only really been below-par on one occasion, when they doled out schoolboy errors to lose by 28 runs to Kolkata Knight Riders.

Form guide

Kings XI: Lost to Super Kings by 22 runs, beat Capitals by 14 runs, beat Mumbai by eight wickets
Sunrisers: Lost to Mumbai by 40 runs, beat Capitals by five wickets, beat Royal Challengers by 118 runs

Both teams have the same number of points in the same number of games, and are both coming in after losses. Are Kings XI overachieving? Are Sunrisers underachieving? That assessment will have to wait till after this game, which will divide the table into an eight-point chunk and a six-point chunk.Siddarth Kaul looks on in awe as Rashid Khan spins a different kind of ball•BCCI

Previous meeting

When they last met, Sunrisers’ top order failed and a Manish Pandey fifty took them to 132 for 6. Ankit Rajpoot took 5 for 14, and was Man of the Match, but his individual effort was overshadowed by Sunrisers collective bowling effort as Kings XI lost by 13 runs.

Likely XIs

Kings XI Punjab 1 KL Rahul (wk), 2 Chris Gayle, 3 Mayank Agarwal, 4 Sarfaraz Khan, 5 David Miller, 6 Mandeep Singh, 7 Sam Curran, 8 R Ashwin (capt), 9 M Ashwin, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 Mujeeb Ur Rahman/Hardus Viljoen/Andrew TyeSunrisers Hyderabad 1 David Warner, 2 Jonny Bairstow (wk), 3 Vijay Shankar, 4 Manish Pandey/Ricky Bhui, 5 Yusuf Pathan, 6 Deepak Hooda, 7 Mohammad Nabi, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar (capt), 10 Sandeep Sharma, 11 Siddarth KaulSarfaraz Khan plays through the off-side•BCCI

Strategy punt

• R Ashwin likes bowling in the Powerplay, especially to left-handers. This is unlikely to change despite David Warner’s excellent record in Powerplays against spin – only one dismissal since 2016. However, if he’s paired with Sam Curran with the new ball, they could cause trouble to both openers. Warner averages 30 – his lowest – and has been out five times to left-arm seamers in the phase, while Bairstow has only 39 runs off 36 balls against spin.
• Manish Pandey is among the highest-paid players at Sunrisers and has been given a long rope by the management, as one of their elite domestic players. But his form has been on the decline since the start of 2018 and they could be well-served by giving him some time off.
• Rashid Khan has taken four wickets in five games, a below-par strike-rate for him. Sunrisers could get more wickets from him by leaving some of his overs for the slog overs where batsmen don’t have the luxury of playing him out. All his wickets this season have come in the 16-20 overs phase.

Stats that matter

• Chris Gayle has fallen four times in eight innings to Sandeep Sharma and has only managed a strike rate of 107.4 against the swing bowler.
• Sunrisers’ middle order (4-6) has contributed less than half the runs as the top order (1-3) since the start of IPL 2018; that’s 26.4% in comparison to 60.52%.
• Kings XI have been the quickest-scoring team in the middle overs this season – they strike at 9.1 per over between overs 7 and 15, whereas Sunrisers score at 8.2. Both of them have scored at 9.4 in the slog overs, but Sunrisers have been far ahead of Kings XI’s 7.4 in the Powerplay with 9.4.
• For batsmen facing at least 250 balls, Manish Pandey has the worst average – 22.78 – and boundary rate – 10.3 balls per boundary – since IPL 2018.

Nick Winter, who showed an ability to swing the Dukes ball, impressed for South Australia with three wickets as Victoria ended the second day still 131 runs behind

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Feb-2018
Getty Images

Cameron White led Victoria’s reply but the young left-arm paceman Nick Winter impressed for South Australia on day two of the Sheffield Shield match at Adelaide Oval. Peter Handscomb, in Australia’s squad for the tour to South Africa, was dismissed for a duck.Victoria made a strong start against the South Australia bowlers as Marcus Harris and Travis Dean added 114 for the first wicket in response to SA’s total of 379 either side of the lunch interval.However Winter, who showed an ability to swing the Dukes ball, persisted and was rewarded with the first three wickets of the innings. These included Handscomb, dragging a full delivery onto his stumps after it swung back just enough to beat the middle of the bat.Eamonn Vines helped White steady the innings before he was pinned lbw by Tom Cooper’s part-time offspin, and Matthew Short fell to Joe Mennie before stumps were taken, with Victoria still 131 runs in deficit.

The ECB has announced final squads for the inaugural North v South series next March, with the likes of Mark Wood, Steven Finn and James Vince given opportunities to press claims for England selection in the three 50-over matches

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Dec-2016The ECB has announced final squads for the inaugural North v South series next March, with Mark Wood, Steven Finn and James Vince among those given opportunities to press their claims for England selection in the three 50-over matches.Wood is currently working back to fitness after a third ankle operation in the space of 12 months, having briefly impressed in an England shirt during the ODI series with Pakistan at the end of the summer. His ability to operate at 90mph could make him a key weapon when England challenge for the Champions Trophy next June.Paul Farbrace, England’s assistant coach, said they were hopeful Wood could also be fit for the ODI tour to West Indies in February.”There is a chance he may make the West Indies squad,” Farbrace said. “But for someone like Finny, who has missed out on his place in one-day cricket in recent series, it’s a great opportunity for him to show what he can do and get himself into the one-day side. There’s others – [Dawid] Malan, [Sam] Northeast, people who have been very successful in county cricket who perhaps haven’t had the opportunity, this is a great chance for them.”Vince played all three ODIs on the recent tour of Bangladesh but was dropped from the squad to tour India next month, while Finn’s last limited-overs appearance came in 2015. Vince will captain the South XI and Keaton Jennings will lead the North. Four members of each squad have already been selected via the Professional Cricketers’ Association’s MVP ranking system.Jennings and Ben Duckett, who both made senior England debuts this winter, are joined by Liam Dawson, Tim Bresnan and Harry Gurney as the other capped players involved. Two young legspinners, in Mason Crane and Josh Poysden, have also been included in the 13-man squads.”For all the players selected, the North versus South series is a platform to make an impression,” England’s national selector, James Whitaker, said. “As Andrew Strauss said when he introduced the series before the start of the 2016 season, we see it as an important addition to our selection process in 50-over cricket, ahead of the two major global events we are staging over the next three summers – the Champions Trophy next year and the World Cup in 2019.”With the calibre of the squads we have selected, we are confident there will be an intense and high-quality level of competition that allows us to assess players who are currently just outside the England squad, and their ability to perform at that higher level.”Farbrace will coach the South side while England’s bowling coach, Ottis Gibson, will take charge of the North. Both were involved in selection, while Trevor Bayliss, England’s head coach, will attend the matches.”The key thing is to give people outside of the current one-day set-up the opportunity to place for England,” Farbrace said. “With an eye on the 2019 World Cup in England, we’re trying to make sure that white-ball cricket has the same importance as red-ball cricket. It’s a brilliant opportunity for players in county cricket who otherwise wouldn’t have been selected.”What we’re saying is, the Lions is one route and county cricket is certainly another route. When people come through the Lions, you know they’ve come through a grounding between county cricket and international cricket, but also there are people capable of coming directly from county cricket. There are some very good county players… So you want the routes to be varied, not just one line into the England team.”Eight members of the Lions squad announced earlier this week for the one-day series against Sri Lanka A in March have been included – Jennings, Joe Clarke, Liam Livingstone, Poysden, Tom Alsop, Daniel Bell-Drummond, Ben Foakes and Tom Curran – while a number of promising players outside the performance programmes, such as Sam Hain, Jack Leaning and Richard Gleeson have also earned call-ups.The squads will gather in Dubai ahead of warm-up matches on March 15. The three-match North v South series will then take place in Dubai, on March 17 and 19, and Abu Dhabi, on March 21.North squad: Keaton Jennings (Durham, capt), Ben Duckett (Northamptonshire*), Sam Hain (Warwickshire), Joe Clarke (Worcestershire), Liam Livingstone (Lancashire), Jack Leaning (Yorkshire), Tim Bresnan (Yorkshire*), Josh Poysden (Warwickshire), Graeme White (Northamptonshire*), Mark Wood (Durham), Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire), Richard Gleeson (Northamptonshire), Harry Gurney (Nottinghamshire*)South squad: James Vince (Hampshire, capt), Daniel Bell-Drummond (Kent), Tom Alsop (Hampshire), Dawid Malan (Middlesex), Sam Northeast (Kent), Liam Dawson (Hampshire*), Ben Foakes (Surrey), Tom Curran (Surrey), Lewis Gregory (Somerset*), Tim Groenewald (Somerset*), Matt Coles (Kent*), Steven Finn (Middlesex), Mason Crane (Hampshire)*PCA MVP rankings selection

South Africa received an unexpected hand to give them a shot at saving the Bangalore Test

The Report by Sidharth Monga15-Nov-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Persistent rain kept the pitch at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium under covers on the second day•BCCI

South Africa received an unexpected hand to give them a shot at saving the Bangalore Test. Well it wasn’t entirely unexpected, in that it had been raining in Bangalore leading in to the Test and the cyclonic activity around India’s east coast had promised more rain, but a steady drizzle since morning to wash out the whole of second day’s play was unexpected.That was arguably the first good news for South Africa in the Test series. After they psyched themselves up on a turning surface in Mohali, they lost Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander to injury, and then were bowled out for 214 on the first day after being asked to bat first. The Bangalore pitch was a normal day-one India track, but they managed to lose eight wickets to spin.India, who had knocked off 80 runs on the first evening, were now looking for quick runs to get into lead. They will feel frustrated by the rain, not least because thunderstorms have been predicted for the third and fourth days of the Test too.

Aaron Finch will replace Michael Clarke in the Pune Warriors squad for the sixth IPL season after Clarke was ruled out of the entire season with a back injury

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Mar-2013Aaron Finch will replace Michael Clarke in the Pune Warriors squad for the sixth IPL season after Clarke was ruled out of the entire season with a back injury. Finch, another top-order batsman, tweeted the development and is expected to leave for India on Saturday.Finch will be joining his third IPL franchise after playing for Rajasthan Royals in 2010 and Delhi Daredevils in 2011 and 2012. He was released by Delhi in November 2012 and went unsold in the auction on February 3 at a base price of $200,000.He represents Melbourne Renegades in the Big Bash League and averaged 66.40 in eight matches last season, scoring 332 runs with a highest score of 111 not out. However, he scored only 4, 7 and 1 for Australia in the three T20Is in January against Sri Lanka and West Indies.Overall, he has scored 1699 runs in 58 domestic T20 matches at 36.14 with a strike-rate of 130.49.The Warriors will be captained by Angelo Mathews this season.

Before today, Virat Kohli’s scores against India’s fiercest rivals were 16, 18 and 9. He was thrilled that his Mirpur masterclass has cleared that blot on his CV.

Siddarth Ravindran in Mirpur18-Mar-2012Since Virat Kohli made his debut in 2008, he and India have played just four ODIs against Pakistan. The Champions Trophy game in Centurion when Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Yousuf took the game away from India, the 2010 Asia Cup match in Dambulla where Harbhajan Singh sealed it with a penultimate-ball six, the World Cup semi-final in Mohali, and today’s encounter. Before today, Kohli’s scores against India’s fiercest rivals were 16, 18 and 9. He was thrilled that his Mirpur masterclass has cleared that blot on his CV.”I hadn’t done too well against Pakistan, played thrice before. Even in the World Cup semi-final, I got out and I was really disappointed. Playing against them is always a high-pressure game, all eyes are on that game. It is really satisfying to chase down a big score in a crunch game for us.”Still only 23, Kohli already has so many big innings that he was asked to rate where this stood among his best knocks. “I rate this (equal) with Hobart but yes this is special because of the game today, to get a hundred against a good opposition.” The Hobart demolition job had given India a chance of reaching the final of the Commonwealth Bank series if Sri Lanka lost their final match. The 183 today gives India a chance of reaching the final if Sri Lanka win their final match.Kohli’s innings really skyrocketed once the batting Powerplay was taken after 35 overs. At that stage he was on 110, and India needed 115 to win. Eleven overs and a spree of Kohli boundaries later, he was on 177 and India needed 23 more, raising an outside chance of a third one-day double-century.Virat Kohli’s made 183, his highest ODI score, to lead India’s highest ever successful chase in one-dayers•AFP

Did the thought ever cross his mind? “I don’t know, I was just looking at the ball and hitting it,” he said. “It did cross my mind once and I was like, this can’t be real and I decided to focus on the game and react to the ball. It sort of crossed my mind but it was about keep batting, keep hitting the ball.”Another offshoot of the lack of matches against Pakistan is the lack of chances to learn how to read the variations of their top-quality spinners, particularly Saeed Ajmal. “Well I have seen him bowl earlier as well but I can tell you that is not easy to pick him,” Kohli said. “You can watch the videos but still to play him is tough because he can turn it both ways. We had a plan against him, me and Rohit, it kind of worked for us. He is a world class bowler, perhaps the best spinner in the world right now.”While the headlines will belong to Kohli, it was a big day for another young India batsman as well. Rohit Sharma hit a rough patch in the one-dayers in Australia, and had been deprived of opportunities so far in the tournament. He responded with a half-century, and the 172-run stand with Kohli put India on the brink of a memorable victory. “I am a big fan of Rohit Sharma’s batting,” Kohli said. “When he plays a long innings, he is a treat to watch. It is an absolute pleasure to bat alongside him.”Their efforts silenced a largely pro-Pakistan crowd. If Sri Lanka beat Bangladesh on Tuesday, Kohli will get a chance on Thursday to improve his Pakistan record once more.

Zimbabwe’s spinners completed the job started by batsmen Tatenda Taibu and Craig Ervine, maintaining an asphyxiating grip on Canada’s batsmen to secure a 175-run win

The Bulletin by Liam Brickhill28-Feb-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Man of the Match Tatenda Taibu top-scored with 98 and then completed two stumpings as Zimbabwe romped to a 175-run win•Getty Images

Zimbabwe’s spinners made sure a record third-wicket partnership between Tatenda Taibu and Craig Ervine didn’t go to waste, maintaining an asphyxiating grip on Canada’s batsmen to secure a 175-run win in Nagpur. Taibu and Ervine’s stand, which is Zimbabwe’s highest for the third wicket in ODIs and their fifth largest overall, helped their team recover from a decidedly shaky start to reach 298 for 8 on a good batting wicket. While the ascendancy had swung between the two teams in the first innings Zimbabwe’s slow bowlers assumed full control in the afternoon, sharing 37.1 overs and all ten wickets as Canada were bowled out in the 43rd over.Despite needing practically a-run-a-ball from the start Canada would still have begun their batting effort with the belief that an upset was not impossible. What was needed was a positive start by their opening pair, the unlikely couple of veteran batsman John Davison and the comparatively foetal Nitish Kumar who, at 40 and 16 respectively, are the oldest and youngest players at this tournament.Davison looked to attack Ray Price – who shared the new ball once again – almost immediately but ran straight past a flighted delivery that straightened just enough to clip the top of off stump. Things got worse for Canada four overs later when, in consecutive deliveries, Price stuck out his left hand and held onto a chipped drive to get rid of Kumar and Ashish Bagai swept straight to short backward square. Jimmy Hansra safely negotiated the hat-trick ball but the damage had been done with Canada staring into the precipice at 7 for 3.Hansra and 19-year-old Ruvindu Gunasekara clung gamely to the crease for a while, but the required rate rose steadily as the slow bowlers strengthened their stranglehold. As the frustration rose Hansra again used his feet to Utseya but this time an arm ball rushed past the outside edge and he was easily stumped for a 41-ball 20.Gunasekara followed in the very next over, bottom-edging an attempted late cut onto his own stumps, and when the big-hitting Rizwan Cheema mis-hit a full toss straight to short fine leg Canada were 66 for 6 and the match was over as a contest. With the pitch exhibiting increasingly extravagant turn legspinner Graeme Cremer was unleashed on the lower order, and both Tyson Gordon and Khurram Chohan were flummoxed by his subtle variations in flight and spin.Zubin Surkari briefly held Zimbabwe at bay, gritting out a brave 26 before he fell to a leg-side stumping. Cremer wrapped up the innings an over later, ripping one through Balaji Rao’s defences to claim his third wicket.

Smart Stats

• Brendan Taylor became the third batsman to be dismissed off the first ball of a World Cup game. Three of the dismissals have come against Zimbabwe.

• Tatenda Taibu’s 98 is the first instance of a Zimbabwe batsman being dismissed in the nineties in a World Cup game and the 32nd instance overall of a batsman being dismissed in the nineties in a World Cup match.

• Taibu’s 98 was his third-highest score in ODIs and his 17th fifty overall. In 14 matches since June 2010, he has scored 564 runs with five half-centuries.

• The 181-run partnership between Taibu and Craig Irvine is the highest partnership for Zimbabwe in World Cups, surpassing the 166-run stand between Grant Flower and Craig Wishart against Namibia in 2003. It is also the fifth-highest stand for Zimbabwe in ODIs overall.

• Zimbabwe’s 298 is their fourth-highest total in a World Cup game. They have 18 scores over 300 in ODIs.

• Zimbabwe’s 175-run win is their largest in World Cups and their fourth largest in ODIs overall. The margin of defeat is also the second largest for Canada in World Cups.

Canada had been able to put up much more of a challenge with the ball, legspinner Rao picking up career-best figures of 4 for 57 as Zimbabwe were kept under pressure on either side of Taibu and Ervine’s partnership. There was a real buzz in the field when Brendan Taylor and Charles Coventry were removed within the first four overs – Taylor pinned in front of his stumps by a Khurram Chohan inswinger on the very first ball of the day – but as the shine faded and the sun baked all life from the wicket the batsmen settled in and a large total loomed.After seeing off the new ball Taibu took two boundaries from offspinner Jimmy Hansra’s first over, another brace from his second, to calm Zimbabwe’s nerves. He barely dipped below a-run-a-ball thereafter, bringing up a 46-ball fifty in the 15th over and playing with increasing fluency. Ervine, who made a cautious start to his innings with 17 from his first 35 balls, eventually began to pick up the tempo too and used a variety of sweep shots against the spinners to good effect as the partnership passed 100.It appeared Zimbabwe had assumed full control once more, but as the ball softened it began to grip the surface and Rao got the breakthrough with one that bounced a little more than Ervine was expecting, ricocheting off the shoulder of the bat and the pad and looping up for wicketkeeper Bagai to complete a good catch. Ervine had reached 85, his highest score in ODIs, but his dismissal sparked another collapse and when Taibu top-edged a sweep to be out for 98 Zimbabwe were 201 for 5.Rao had luck on his side in nipping Greg Lamb and Sean Williams out, Lamb chopping a long-hop onto his own stumps and Williams gloving a sweep to give Bagai the chance to take a third smart catch, diving forward. Zimbabwe were precariously placed at 240 for 7 at that point and were thankful for an enterprising 41-run stand between Prosper Utseya and Graeme Cremer, which gave the score took a sheen of respectability after a stuttering start and a middle-order wobble. As it turned out, their score was more than enough against a Canadian line-up that showed precious little competency in combating an unrelenting hydra of spin.

Match Timeline

Delhi Daredevils enter the third IPL with the same label as they did the past two – as the team to beat. That is, however, until they reach the semi-finals

Jamie Alter09-Mar-2010

Delhi Daredevils

Delhi have many explosive batsmen, but keep an eye on Dinesh Karthik•Associated Press

Delhi Daredevils enter the third IPL with the same label as they did the past two – as the team to beat. That is, however, until they reach the semi-finals. Two seasons, two semi-final games, two poor performances. The Delhi juggernaut is a formidable one at normal times, but when the stakes get higher, they have failed to bring out a facet that is only the preserve of champions. Simply put, in two semi-finals they failed to lift their game to an even higher level.Boasting the best batting order of the tournament, a very reliable wicketkeeper-batsman, the best Twenty20 spinner with an economical Indian ally, and an enviable new-ball attack, Delhi have everything going for them three days before the IPL starts. If Virender Sehwag and David Warner provide sheer belligerence with the bat, Tillakaratne Dilshan and AB de Villiers bring a mix of calculated big-hitting and superb running between the wickets. Gautam Gambhir can score at a clip without being half as audacious as these four names, while Dinesh Karthik holds up an unassuming lower middle order with his brand of Twenty20 batting.Dirk Nannes and Ashish Nehra proved a highly successful pair in South Africa and later in the Champions League Twenty20 in India and are fitting prelude to what follows. Daniel Vettori, when he links up with the team in the second half of the tournament, brings talent and experience and Rajat Bhatia, Pradeep Sangwan and Aavishkar Salvi are more than capable medium-pace options.

The buzz

The pitch at the Feroz Shah Kotla, which was severely criticised following the abandonment of the India-Sri Lanka ODI on December 27, has passed the scrutiny of Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, chairman of the IPL cricket committee. However, the surface remains an unknown quantity after it first came under scrutiny during the Champions League Twenty20 in October when the pitch was slow and offered uneven bounce. The venue has been banned from hosting internationals for 12 month but IPL games have been passed.Last week Delhi signed up Eric Simons, India’s bowling coach for the home series against South Africa, as an assistant coach. Simons, who will assist Greg Shipperd, fills the position left vacant by Australia’s David Saker, and will focus on working with the large bunch of young bowlers in the Delhi squad.

New faces

Delhi jumped at Wayne Parnell in this year’s auction and netted the young fast bowler for $610,000. That amount surprised Parnell, and has increased the pressure on him. Parnell fills the slot left vacant after Delhi bought out the contract of Glenn McGrath. The other acquisition is the New South Wales allrounder Moises Henriques, who was transferred from Kolkata Knight Riders, the former India offspinner Sarandep Singh, and the Punjab legspinner Sarabjit Ladda. These three are unlikely to see much playing time given the overseas player cap and Amit Mishra’s success as the prime spinner.

Watch out for

David Warner has been in brutal touch against New Zealand and West Indies during Australia’s successful summer, and his accomplishments for NSW during the Champions League Twenty20 in India last year prove he likes the conditions. Warner is wicked when at his left-handed best but also likes to change it up every now and then. Tellingly, Warner does not want to abandon the switch-hit, which he believes gives him the advantage of being able to hit with the turn regardless of whether an offspinner or a legspinner is operating.

Missing in action

Daniel Vettori will not be available until the end of New Zealand’s Test series against Australia ends on March 31, but franchises have a 48-hour window to name a swap so expect them to usher him back. Apart from that, each of their first-choice players is available for the entire tournament.

X factor

Dinesh Karthik. After a very powerful top five, Karthik settles into the middle order as a major asset for Delhi. A very skilled limited-overs player, Karthik is an asset in Twenty20 because of his ability to hit a long ball and lead a recovery at a brisk pace . He has never looked bogged down in Twenty20 and has most always been able to find the gaps even when wickets have been lost. Certain to play all Delhi’s matches due to his role as wicketkeeper, this is one player the opposition may happen to overlook because of the far more accomplished names the squad. But they do so at a big risk.

Strength

When the first five names on your team list are Sehwag, Gambhir, Dilshan, de Villiers, and Warner, sufficed to say batting is your strongest asset.

Weakness

Delhi are fast earning the unwanted tag of being club cricket’s South Africa in that they have a tendency to choke when it most matters. They made the semi-finals of both IPL seasons and failed to get that far in the inaugural Champions League Twenty20 held in India last year. The batting, fielding and bowling are top notch but it’s in the head and gut that this outfit needs to toughen up.

IPL 2009 – the key figures:

Final position: Semi-finalists
Top scorer: AB de Villiers with 465 runs at 51.66
Top wicket-taker: Ashish Nehra with 19 wickets at 18.21 and economy rate of 6.78
Best result: Ten-wicket win over Kings XI Punjab
Worst result: six-wicket loss with 14 balls remaining to eventual winners Deccan Chargers in the semi-finals
Highest team score: 189 v Chennai Super Kings
Lowest team score: 120 for 9 v Punjab

Prediction for 2010

Put your money on them making the semi-finals – and they could get third time lucky.