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Pakistan And Sri Lanka Battle for pride

Pakistan and Sri Lanka - the traditional powerhouses in the subcontinent - face crises in the T20 format just ahead of the World T20 as they brace themselves to play out an inconsequential Asia Cup game on Friday (February 4) after failing to qualify for the final. Not many would have fancied this outcome at the start of the tournament.  

Both teams are unhappy about their performances so far and understandably so. Neither team has presented a fake front to brush away the results. On the contrary, both Waqar Younis and Angelo Mathews have expressed disappointment but laid the blame on themselves rather than external factors.

Dhoni looking forward to a good final.

The victory against UAE was another step in the right direction. He's hitting one of those phases as a skipper again where everything he does, simply clicks. Every single move has worked well, just like it did against UAE. India had made three changes to their bowling line-up in an aim to test out the bench strength.

The improvement in Bhuvneshwar's performance, in particular, pleases the skipper for another reason. "Him coming back to the side gives us that extra option in case Shami doesn't get fit. He's somebody who can come in straightaway and start doing the work for the team," he said and credited the bowler for the transition.

Before the World T20, there is the small matter of a final. The Asia Cup finale against Bangladesh will be 'good final', feels Dhoni. He acknowledges that Bangladesh will know the conditions well but also insists that since India have played four games, they are familiar with it too. 

Martin Crowe's top five knocks

Martin Crowe, the former New Zealand captain, who passed away on March 3, was one of the most technically correct batsman and the best player of reverse swing bowling, according to his peers. During his time he played many a memorable knocks for the Black Caps. Here are five of them:

188 vs Australia at Brisbane in 1985

108* vs Pakistan at Lahore in 1990

299 vs Sri Lanka at Wellington in 1991

100* vs Australia at Auckland in 1992 

81* vs West Indies at Auckland

Shakib Al Hasan reprimanded for swing at stumps

Shakib Al Hasan has officially been reprimanded for breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct. The breach took place in Bangladesh's five-wicket win over Pakistan in Mirpur on Wednesday (March 2).

The incident occurred in the 18th over being bowled by Mohammad Amir when Shakib walked across to play the lap shot and was bowled in the process. Furious, he turned around and took a swing at the stumps after which, he immediately apologised to the umpires.

A level 1 violation of Article 2.1.8 relating to "abuse of cricket equipment or clothing, ground equipment or fixtures and fittings during an International Match", imposes an official reprimand at the least and a maximum of 50 per cent of the match fee.

It's a special win for us: MS Dhoni

MS Dhoni has enough reason to be a happy captain; 10 wins in the last 11 Twenty20 Internationals, five on a trot to win the Asia Cup and all this in the build-up to the World T20. This is quite possibly India's best run-of-form leading to an ICC event in recent years. And that's exactly why Dhoni termed the victory as a 'special win' for his team.

The skipper also liked the fact that this victory was different from other bilateral wins. "The challenge is different from a bilateral series of five games where even if you lose the first two games you still have chances of coming back," he said. "The biggest thing about a final is it is a knockout game. If its an off day for you, you're completely out and you have to start all over again. It's a special win for us."

The victory also showcased India's dominance as a T20 team in recent times. Dhoni was cautious not to equate success in this format to automatically mean success in other formats. But was convinced that India had the right balance for playing a T20I in any condition. That augurs well for the team leading up to the World T20 but a significant concern was the lack of opportunities for spinners in the Asia Cup. Conditions being in favour of fast bowlers put the slower bowlers in the shadow despite them expected to play a major role in Indian conditions.