England struggle to build momentum

Virender Sehwag slammed a stroke-filled 57-balls 69 to take India to 166 for four in 22 overs in the rain-curtailed fourth One-Day International against England, setting the tourists a tough task of getting 198 runs for victory (on Duckworth-Lewis Method) at the Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Sunday.

Sehwag, who hit a superb half-century, was in terrific form and treated the English bowlers with disdain slamming nine fours and three sixes before being caught by James Anderson on the long-on boundary off spinner Graeme Swann.

The dashing Delhi opener added 79 runs off 62 balls for the second wicket with Gautam Gambhir, who was dropped down to number three to accommodate Sachin Tendulkar to open the batting with Sehwag.

After the game was reduced to a 22-overs-a-side contest due to rain interruption twice, India resumed play at 106-1 in 17 overs. Hence with the overs running out for the hosts, Sehwag and Gambhir went for runs. But soon both fell while trying to accelerate.

Gambhir held out to Anderson at long-on off Swann for 40, which came off 37 balls with seven hits to the fence.

Man-in-form Yuvraj Singh and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni then resorted to some lusty hitting to try and take India to a fighting total before the later was bowled by Samit Patel for nine.

Yuvraj remained not out on 25 off 11 balls with three sixes while Yusuf Pathan hit the only ball he faced off Patel for a six to post a competitive total.

Past wins give us the edge

Having beaten the same opponents twice in the league stage, Chennai Super Kings coach Kepler Wessels said his side would go with the psychological advantage when his side clash with Kings XI Punjab in the semifinal of Indian Premier League here on Saturday.

"We had beaten them early in the tournament when we had our strongest team and later on even without the overseas players we still managed to win. It's an advantage to go into the semifinals against them with this record," Wessels said.

The South African, however, said the team would still need to stick to the basics to emerge victorious on Saturday.

Wessels said both the teams will get the chance to assess the Wankhede Stadium pitch from the first semifinal on Friday.

"We will get a look at the pitch during the semifinal today (between Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Daredevils) and it will give us a fair idea. It should be an advantage for both teams playing the semifinals," he said.

The coach said they had picked a replacement for New Zealander Stephen Fleming who had to leave the team due to personal reasons.

"While I don't want to disclose who the replacement is I can say that all the players chosen for the team are suited for the Twenty20 format," Wessels said, adding that all the remaining players of the team were fit for the semifinal.

The former South Africa captain was all praise for the IPL and said it reminded him of the ODI World Series in Australia organised by Kerry Packer, in which he had played.

"You have a similar vibe here and it is a tremendous tournament. I am sure it will go from strength to strength," he said.