SUBRAMANIUM BADRINATH THE BAIT IN PRESSURE SITUATIONS

For all those who are living in chennai and fans of the Chennai Super Kings know this person in and out and they way in which everyone would say if you ask How Did Badri Play?.the answer would be that "He played way too slowly and wasted many balls" but actually if you analyse the situation correctly he is mostly used as a bait in pressure situations and he rescues the team and creates a platform for the big hitters such as Dhoni,Albie Morkel,Dwayne Bravo it is the nature of t20 cricket that people love only boundaries and thus the hardwork of badri is overshadowed by brutal hitting by the likes of dhoni and co in the csk squad.
Csk have been the most consistent squad in the IPL history by making it to the semi-finals in all the editions thus far and to be honest badri has rescued csk in many matches where we would have lost an classic example would be the the Elimination Final 2 between Chennai Super Kings and the Mumbai Indians where csk lost 2 wickets for just 1 run on the board and badri with hussey crafted a match changing partnership and that was completely overshadowed by some brutal hitting by Dhoni.imagine if that platform had not been set by badri and hussey csk would have been shot out of the ipl-5.

Badri is blessed with sound footwork and quick reflexes which makes him an very good batsman and an excellent fielder and remember he is 32 years old.He scores very heavily in the domestic circuit amassing a total of 7891 runs from 150 innings and he has been the mainstay of Tamil Nadu's batting line up.The ugly truth is that a batsman of such quality and experience has been completely ignored and to be honest he has not been given his due chances.They say that Badri is an test batsman and yet why is he not playing for India in test matches tough being present in the 15 men squad for many series.The most shocking surprise was during the India vs New Zeland test series 2012 where Cheteshwar Pujara was selected ahead of Badri.was completely baffling.With the retirement of Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman the indian test batting line up required some Experience at the top one of the two slots was taken up by Virat Kolhi leaving only just one spot which was given to pujara.tough pujara scored a century it was in placid pitches and against an non firing and tired  New Zeland bowling line up.Now with the likes of England and Australia touring India against whom India lost all the 8 test matches its a wonderful season ahead.obviously the quality of the bowling line up in both these teams are very high so with tendulkar speaking of retirement we need some experience in the test line up.

Initially Suresh Raina was considered and was given 17 test matches but kept failing badly before he was dropped and for badri he was given just 2 test matches and he played well against the famed South African bowling line up of Dale Steyn who picked up 10 wickets in the match and only 3 indian batsmen scored above 10 runs in the first innings where badri and sewagh played a crucial partnership where viru scored a century overshawdoing the beautiful innings of 56 by badri giving sewagh a platform.Badri was just given 2 test matches to prove his worth and he was dropped.With none of the IPL teams interested in buying him at the auction held this year his career seems to be going no where..An great talent which went un noticed. 

WEST INDIES BEAT SRILANKA IN ICC WORLD T20 FINALS GANGAM STYLE

 Flair. Calypso. Frontrunners. Millionaires. Gold chains. Chris Gayle. No, no, no, no, no and no. West Indies' first World Twenty20 win was more digging in, refusing to give up, running and fielding like their life depended on this match, stunning the home crowd, and pulling off one of the most amazing turnarounds in Twenty20 history, especially given the stage. The due share of flair came from one of the most eye-pleasing batsmen going around. There's no need to add "one of the" here, because Marlon Samuels played simply the best Twenty20 international innings ever seen when West Indies were down and the count had reached about eight. A feedbacker to ESPNcricinfo's ball-by-ball commentary asked if Samuels' 78 was the 281 of Twenty20 cricket.

Samuels was not just shouting for help from the burning deck. He danced on that burning deck. He danced so well the burning deck became attractive. And Sri Lanka were singed. So singed that arguably the best Twenty20 bowler in the world went for 0 for 54. So singed that Ajantha Mendis' figures of 4 for 12 in the final meant nothing to the result. West Indies had been 14 for 2 after Powerplays and 32 for 2 after 10 overs, the fourth-worst and fifth-worst scores at these points in the history of Twenty20 internationals. They even took 17 balls to score their first run off the bat. Yet so breathtaking was Samuels' assault, never mind the wickets falling around him, that Sri Lanka were too stunned to respond.

It is also fair, in a way, that captain Darren Sammy contributed big to the win. That the man who has led the team through times when others had deserted it, despite obvious question marks over his skills, played a crucial role on the big night of a tournament that had threatened to make him almost superfluous ... When Samuels got out, West Indies were still 108 in the 18th over. They needed a strong finish to keep fighting. And fight Sammy did. He swung and ran like hell, turning three ones into twos in the last over, hitting two fours around those scrambles.

It was perhaps a little easy to carry on after Samuels had struck. Samuels struck when Malinga had come back to try to deliver the knockout blow. Samuels counterattacked sensationally. All Malinga had to do was miss his yorker by a few inches in the 13th over, and Samuels stunned him with three of the finest sixes: a flick over deep midwicket, a loft over long-on, and a beautiful drive over extra cover. Still only 69 for 2 after 13, but it helped West Indies show fight.

Jayawardene wanted to nip that fight in the bud. He brought back Ajantha, who responded with three wickets in his last two overs: Dwayne Bravo, Andre Russell and Kieron Pollard out of the way. Surely Jayawardene had snubbed it all out?

Not quite. In between those two overs, Samuels continued his assault, taking apart Jeevan Mendis. Then was the turn of the man widely acknowledged as the best bowler in Twenty20 cricket. After hitting Malinga for a four and a six, Samuels got a length ball, which he sent onto the roof of the stadium - the biggest six of the tournament at 108 metres.

Angelo Mathews said during the break that West Indies were still 15-20 short. Perhaps they were, but the momentum of that onslaught - 105 in last 10 - was huge. If Sri Lanka were not already in their shells, a superb first ball from Ravi Rampaul sent Tillakaratne Dilshan's off stump cartwheeling. His finger went to his lips. The crowd, though, had already been stunned into silence.

Two of Sri Lanka's greatest cricketers were now in the middle, but like the West Indies openers they were under pressure too. And would they have thought of three previous World Cup finals that they had lost? Jayawardene was too early into a sweep - a shot he plays better than anybody else in today's cricket - and nearly gave Samuels a wicket in his first over. Kumar Sangakkara kept hitting even poor deliveries straight to fielders. West Indies kept squeezing harder and harder.

Such is the pace of Twenty20 that suddenly Sri Lanka were 39 after eight overs, and while they had wickets in hand, they don't matter as much in T20 as they do in more traditional formats. Most importantly, Sunil Narine had shown in one over that he was going to turn the ball a long way. Sri Lanka were running out of time, and needed to target somebody.

Sangakkara targeted Samuel Badree, and even though he hit a four, he also deposited a long hop with deep midwicket. Sammy now put in another squeeze. Mathews was finding that he had spoken too early. Three dots later, he moved across and the stumps were laid prone. Sammy hit them with a slower ball. Now it began to drizzle. Sri Lanka were well behind D/L now, and Jayawardene had to take risks. Never really flowing in his effort, Jayawardene mistimed a reverse shot, and holed out to point.

After that Nuwan Kulasekara was just a minor irritant to celebrations the world had been waiting to watch. Gayle, who might have failed with just 3 off 16, was the man dancing the hardest with every falling wicket. He was also the first with his arm around Rampaul, who bowled an over late in the piece that was as ordinary as his first wicket was extraordinary.

After that 22-run over, Sri Lanka needed 44 from four overs, not unheard of in T20. Sammy, though, had kept the trump card back. On cue, Narine delivered Kulasekara's wicket. The birthday boy, Bravo, who had got a shocker from the umpire when he batted, was the man at the end of the two catches that finished the match.

The time had finally arrived to party, and West Indies partied as well as they had played.

DLF ENDS ITS SPONSORSHIP WITH IPL

DLF Ltd, India's largest real estate firm, has decided not to renew its title sponsorship of the IPL, ending its five-year association with the tournament. The company had the first right of refusal on a new contract, but was considered unlikely to sign up a second time given the slump in the real estate market and the decline in the IPL's television ratings over the last two years.

"Sponsoring IPL over the last five years was a strategic decision wherein we wanted to establish our brand presence across India as the leading real estate player," Rajeev Talwar, DLF Group Executive Director told PTI. "Our IPO came in 2007, a year before the IPL started. We were very aggressive pan-India then. We had good presence in all big cities." The company is now concentrating on those cities where its core strengths lie.

According to Talwar, DLF spent Rs 250 crore (US$ 44.96 million) on the IPL over the five years of its contract. While it has pulled out of the Twenty20 league, it still has plans to promote other sports, though Talwar ruled out owning a franchise or a team. He also said the amount of money the company would spend "will be less than Rs 50 crore ($9 million) a year that we spent in IPL."

The company's decision not to renew their deal with the BCCI is also another indication of the value of the IPL taking a hit over the last couple of years as TV ratings have flattened. Ratings for IPL 5 were just about in line with 2011. The overall tournament rating was 3.45, compared to 3.51 a year ago, according to Tam Sports, a division of TAM Research, the leading television ratings agency in India. In contrast, the 2010 tournament had an average TVR of 5.51.

In April, Talwar told the Business Standard that renewing the contract "depends on how do they [the BCCI] perceive the value." The BCCI had indicated any new sponsorship agreement would be for a higher value than the original agreement. DLF was obviously not willing to meet the board's asking price. In a climate where the general economic situation is worsening - revenues for Multi-Screen Media, the tournament's broadcaster, dropped this year as companies cut back on advertising - means the board could have a tough time finding a replacement sponsor at the price that they desire.

DLF is the third title sponsor to pull out of a BCCI backed tournament in the last two years. Airtel pulled out as title sponsors of the Champions League T20 in 2011 while their replacement, Nokia, pulled out earlier this year. DLF is already involved in golf and tennis. It provides prize money of about Rs 1 crore ($179,000) to the winner of the annual DLF Masters and is one of the sponsors of this year's Davis Cup, on which they will be spending Rs 2 crore, according to Talwar.

AMLA'S TON CRUSHES ENGLAND IN FIRST ODI

South Africa became the first side to be ranked No. 1 in all three formats and did it in fitting style, with a crushing 80-run victory in the second one-day international to end England's run of 10 consecutive wins. South Africa's success was, not for the first time on this tour, set around a fantastic innings from Hashim Amla as he made a career-best 150 from 124 balls on a pitch that was far from easy for strokeplay.

Amla's innings, South Africa's sixth-highest in one-day internationals, marshalled South Africa to an imposing 287 for 5 and England never really threatening to get close once Ian Bell's sprightly knock was ended by Robin Peterson. The spinners played a key role on a helpful surface - England's had earlier found some turn, too - and when Eoin Morgan pulled JP Duminy to deep midwicket the game was up.

This match, though, was about a man who is having a defining tour. It was another day when Amla's run-scoring feats came into clear focus as he became the fastest man to 3000 ODI runs, beating the previous record held by Viv Richards. His innings included 16 boundaries, ranging from the expansive flick over midwicket to the cover drive to the wonderfully cheeky deflection past the keeper off Tim Bresnan late in the innings.

Amla and Graeme Smith added 89 for the first wicket - after being forced to battle against some lively new-ball bowling - which laid the platform for South Africa. Amla then took over with one of the finest pieces of one-day batting you could wish to see. Amla's hundred, his tenth in one-day internationals, came off 96 balls and it was an innings full of deft placement. He toyed with the England bowlers right to the final moment when he threaded Steven Finn through backward point to reach 150; his third fifty needed just 27 deliveries.

England, though, did not help their cause as far as Amla was concerned. He could have been run out twice - on 1 when Samit Patel, preferred at the last minute to Chris Woakes, was slow to the ball from mid-off, and then on 62 when James Anderson produced a poor throw from short fine leg - and was also dropped twice. The first catching chance came on 42 when Craig Kieswetter put down a thin edge off Patel and the wicketkeeper dropped another, one-handed down the leg side, when Amla had 92.

It was a poor day for Kieswetter and a bad time for fallibility to rear its head, with Jonny Bairstow and Matt Prior breathing down his neck. In a tough analysis of his performance he also missed a chance offered by AB de Villiers, on 1, diving full stretch to his right. It was the hardest of his chances, but the type Kieswetter had started to pluck out of thin air.

The early stages looked much like the Test series. Smith and Amla resisted whatever pressure the England bowlers were able to exert although both had moments of fortune, especially during the first spells from Finn and James Anderson. South Africa waited until the sixth over for their first boundary when Smith, in typical style, took a ball from well outside off straight past mid-off when most batsman would have driven through extra cover.

The acceleration started towards the end of the mandatory Powerplay when overs seven to nine went for a combined 32 runs, including eight boundaries. Fourteen of those runs came off Bresnan's opening over and he remained the most expensive bowler. Swann was introduced in the 12th over but it was Patel who caused the greater problems, particularly to Smith who was intent on trying to sweep the left-arm spinner.

Smith reached his fifty from 70 balls before his eagerness to press on during the bowling Powerplay brought his downfall when he top-edged Bresnan. South Africa's momentum stalled for a period as Duminy sacrificed himself in a mix-up with Amla (the end result of the innings showed that was the correct decision) and Dean Elgar, in his first ODI innings after the Cardiff washout, struggled to tick the scoreboard over, especially against the spinners. He had laboured to 15 off 28 balls when Swann turned one past his outside edge to take middle. It was a rare moment for Swann to enjoy in a difficult season.

It took South Africa just two balls to make a breakthrough when Lonwabo Tsotsobe, the left-arm quick, speared a full delivery under Alastair Cook's bat to take the off stump. Generally, however, the quick bowlers pitched a touch too short, which allowed Bell to score freely although his intent in using his feet also played a part in disrupting the bowlers' length. No one, though, had the staying power of Amla.

Just as the second-wicket stand was building Jonathan Trott top-edged a pull towards long leg where Elgar, having almost misjudged the chance and come in too far, took a stunning catch over his shoulder and managed to hold on when he hit the ground. It was the sort of fielding brilliance that England have lacked in recent months.

Peterson's wickets came in contrasting style. His first was the perfect left-arm spinner's dismissal as Bell, lunging forward, was beaten by one that turned and struck his off stump. The second was the type a spinner will happily take an embellish for future reference when Ravi Bopara, trying to regain form after his time out of cricket, carved a long hop to cover.

Briefly, Bopara had started to look as though form was returning with a sweetly struck square drive and a crisp pull - reaching double figures for the first time since his personal problems curtailed his Test series against South Africa - but the manner of his dismissal will bring the pressure back on him. Kieswetter's day did not get much better when he became Elgar's first international scalp as an outside edge rebounded off de Villiers and looped to slip; Kieswetter had done himself no favours by trying to play to leg against the turn. This batting, on a slow but hardly threatening pitch, did not bode well for the subcontinent.

To highlight the excellence of what Amla had produced Morgan, one of the finest timers and placers of a ball in world cricket, struggled to adjust to conditions and was barely striking above 50 when he picked out the man at deep midwicket. As Bresnan and Swann offered limp edges to de Villiers against Wayne Parnell it did not go unnoticed that England, as a team, were struggling to match what one player, Kevin Pietersen, had scored on his own at Taunton.

SUBRAMANIUM BADRINATH REPLACES VVS LAXMAN IN THE INDIAN TEST TEAM

 S Badrinath, the Tamil Nadu batsman, has been called up to the India squad for the Tests against New Zealand as a replacement for VVS Laxman. Laxman, who was in the 15-man squad for the two-Test series, announced his retirement from international cricket with immediate effect on Saturday.
Badrinath, 31, has played two Tests for India, the last being in early 2010 in the home series against South Africa. He has a Test best of 56 in his three innings. His most recent international appearance was during the limited-overs leg of India's tour of the West Indies last summer.

A consistent performer on the domestic circuit, Badrinath was the highest run-getter in the 2010-11 Ranji Trophy, where he amassed 922 runs at 131.71. However, he had a middling 2011-12 season: he had picked up a shoulder injury during the Challenger Trophy in October last year and, as a result, missed the first three rounds of the Ranji Trophy. When he returned, he scored 292 runs in nine innings.

When Rahul Dravid retired in March, Badrinath's name floated around as a possible replacement for him in the India Test middle-order. But, at that point, a BCCI official had told that the odds were against Badrinath. "Not only is he 30-plus, but he has been tested already," the official said. "He is a good player at domestic level but unfortunately does not seem to fit at the highest level."

SOUTH AFRICA TRASH ENGLAND TO BECOME WORLD NO 1 TEST TEAM

 South Africa displaced England at the top of the Test rankings with a 51-run victory in the third Test at Lord's to secure a 2-0 victory in the series. It was a thoroughly merited victory by a side that had dominated the series but England, forced by desperate circumstances to play with daring, went down with a spirit that for a partisan crowd made their failure easier to bear.

For South Africa's captain, Graeme Smith, there must have been just a few flutters of doubt before the greatest triumph of his formidable reign was confirmed and he received the mace from the ICC chief executive, Dave Richardson. He has had too many disappointments for there not to be. It was appropriate that the moment he knew victory must belong to South Africa was when Matt Prior was ninth out for 73 and he plunged for the red ball at first slip with hands like an apple catcher.

 One ball later came South Africa's victory, Steven Finn pushing at Vernon Philander and this time Jacques Kallis holding on at second slip. Philander, who until Lord's had been largely overshadowed. finished with 5 for 30 and had top-and-tailed England with each new ball in turn. Good runs as well made him a worthy recipient of the Man-of-the-Match award.

England had tried, and failed, throughout the series to overcome South Africa with tight disciplined cricket. They had been rolled by an innings in the first Test at The Oval but, in the closing moments of another defeat at Lord's, they had at least piqued their superior opponents with adventure. Perhaps it carried a significant message that their strategy had been too narrow. Perhaps it was nothing more than a last fling.

What could not be disguised was that England's reign at No 1 has been nightmarish: six defeats in 11 and Test series defeats against Pakistan and South Africa, this latest setback representing their worst home defeat since the 2001 Ashes series. Despite that, the captain, Andrew Strauss, is still held in high regard, although he will want this praise to centre upon run-making, a united dressing room and tactical acumen rather than his undoubted managerial skills.

At tea, England needed 125 from 33 overs with three wickets left and the new ball 10 overs away and calculated that the difference between old ball and new had been so pronounced in this Test that those 10 overs should be met with all-out attack. Prior and Graeme Swann added 62 from 8.4 overs, but Swann perished before the new ball, skilfully thrown out by Imran Tahir at the bowler's end as he tried to steal a single through gully.

Prior survived Duminy's catch in the deep when Morne Morkel overstepped and survived again when AB de Villiers narrowly missed a stumping chance off Imran Tahir, both on 67, but from the moment the new ball was taken, the match shifted South Africa's way.

It was Jonny Bairstow whose ebullient half-century - 54 from 47 balls from the depths of 45 for 4 - first sought a route to victory, an overgrown path strewn with pitfalls, a fourth-innings target of 346 of a magnitude England had never achieved. Tahir, bowling his legspin around the wicket into the rough, scuttled one through his defences three overs into the afternoon session as he trusted to the back foot.

Broad was in jaunty, stand-and-deliver mode, a suitable approach considering his long-standing run of failures playing in more orthodox style, never better than when he pulled Dale Steyn into the grandstand for six. Another hook, an excellent bouncer delivered by Kallis in the penultimate over before tea, brought his downfall as Hashim Amla took an assured catch at long leg.

Jonathan Trott was the mainstay of England's subjugated top order, making 63 from 159 balls, an innings ended by Steyn in mid-afternoon, courtesy of a fast catch, diving to his left at second slip, by the evergreen Kallis. But until his ambition was recalibrated by the example of Bairstow, Trott had been in danger of burying deep into his own brain. The situation demanded that he played well out of his comfort zone and he gave the impression of attacking zeal without really moving the score along, playing and missing regularly.

Any batsman had a right to struggle against an attack of high quality in what, while the ball retained its hardness, were favourable bowling conditions. South Africa had had his measure throughout the series and it showed.

Trott was also stung forward by a mix-up that led to the run-out of James Taylor. This was England's nadir, for which Trott had to take the majority of the blame.

When Trott clipped Steyn wide of mid-on, and Amla chased towards long-on, the lack of running urgency suggested that both batsmen had settled for a dawdling three. In fact, were it not for an outfield slowed by repairs after the Olympics archery, it would have been four. The final arrow was about to plunge deep into England's ambitions that they might square the series.

Steyn, the bowler, was so convinced all meaningful action was complete that he collected his sun hat from the umpire before the call of "over." But Trott turned in invitation of a fourth. Taylor, who was running to the danger end, accepted with alacrity only for Trott to turn his back and leave Taylor stranded as Steyn transferred to the wicketkeeper.

England's 16 for 2 from 13 overs overnight was no sort of platform. Trott and Ian Bell had clung on during the fourth evening in expectation of a more comfortable morning. But the morning was overcast and the ball hooped around for every South Africa pace bowler in turn. Instead of easing into the task, they began as if disorientated by an unwanted alarm call.

Bell did not manage to add a run, his score 4 from 37 balls when he drove without conviction at Philander and was caught by Smith, second attempt, at first slip. When Taylor became the fourth batsman to fall, England had scrambled 29 in 13 overs, aware of the target but unable to develop any coherent approach to it.

England's spirit persisted. Like Bairstow and Broad before him, Swann, ideal for such an escapade, played with dash. He sauntered down the pitch to hoist Tahir's legspin for six, and pulled Kallis high into the Mound Stand. Prior passed 50 by twice reverse sweeping Tahir and serenely drove Morkel over mid-on. It was fun but, in the final analysis, perhaps it did not mean all that much.

KEVIN PIETERSON NOT INCLUDED IN ENGLAND'S SQUAD FOR WORLD T20 2012

Kevin Pietersen's absence from international cricket continues after he was left out of England's squad for the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka as well as the group for the one-day series against South Africa.

Michael Lumb, the Nottinghamshire opener, and Sussex allrounder Luke Wright, who were both part of the team that won the title in 2010, are recalled in the 15-man squad. Ravi Bopara, whose summer has been interrupted by personal problems, secures a place in both the T20 and one-day squads.

Stuart Broad, who captains England in Twenty20, has been rested from the one-day series against South Africa with the selectors feeling he will benefit from a break before leading the side next month. James Anderson, Broad's new-ball partner in Tests, does make the squad while Danny Briggs is the second specialist spinner.

Geoff Miller, the national selector, said: "Stuart Broad has an important period coming up leading our T20 side and with a three match series followed closely by the ICC World T20 we feel a two week break from cricket is in the best interests of both Stuart and the team.

"Kevin Pietersen's future involvement is still being determined and he was therefore not considered for selection in either squad."

England World Twenty20 squad Stuart Broad (capt), Jonny Bairstow, Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Danny Briggs, Jos Buttler, Jade Dernbach, Steven Finn, Alex Hales, Craig Kieswetter, Michael Lumb, Eoin Morgan, Samit Patel, Graeme Swann, Luke Wright

Pietersen's omission was expected following the controversial last few weeks which included being dropped for the final Test against South Africa at Lord's. Although he apologised to the ECB for 'provocative' texts he sent to South African players during the Headingley Test the board have indicated there will not be any swift conclusion and return for Pietersen.

Andy Flower, the England team director, said: "It's a sad situation for everyone involved. He played superb in the last Twenty20 World Cup but the circumstances ayt the moment mean he can't be selected," he told Sky Sports News. "There are still issues unresolved and we will be addressing those when we have time.

"Let me be clear, this is not just an issue between the captain and Kevin. There are deeper issues, certainly of trust and mutual respect that need to be addressed. Those issues have to be resolved before there is anyway forward."

Pietersen was Man of the Tournament in the Caribbean when England won their first global trophy, but in June retired from limited-overs internationals after deciding to quit 50-over cricket which made him unavailable for Twenty20 under the terms of the central contracts. However, following the Headingley Test against South Africa he had a u-turn and via a video on YouTube made himself available for all international cricket before, the next day, being left out of the Test side.

Most of the players selected have been part of England's Twenty20 cricket this year, but Wright and Lumb both last played in June 2011 against Sri Lanka at Bristol. The pair enjoyed impressive Friends Life t20 seasons with Wright making 309 runs at a strike-rate of 161.78 while Lumb made 252 runs in eight matches.

Lumb formed England's opening partnership alongside Craig Kieswetter during the 2010 tournament in West Indies but his career took a slump, not helped by injury, following that event before his move to Nottinghamshire sparked a revival this season.

The same 15-man squad will face South Africa in three matches next month. England begin the defense of their title against Afghanistan on September 21.