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.

Dhoni urges team to stay in line

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India's captain in the limited-over formats, has urged his team-mates to respect the international guidelines for on-field behaviour in the wake of the Harbhajan Singh-Andrew Symonds controversy. He said there would be some allowance for "chit-chat" between players as long as there was nothing untoward being uttered.

"Whoever the players are, they know the international guidelines that are set out to be followed," he said, when asked about the importance of player behaviour in the forthcoming limited-over games. "Each and every player should respect it. It is the responsibility of an individual more than their skipper to know the limitations and to know where they stand."

It was reported that the Australian players were unhappy over Harbhajan's reprieve, given that he had been handed a three-match ban in the first hearing. Dhoni would also remember the World Twenty20 match in Durban last year, a match that marked the start of the fractious relationship between the two sides.

"We don't really care about whatever has happened so far," he said a day before the Twenty20 international in Melbourne. "It's a fresh start and we're going to play some good cricket. There's always chit-chat going on between the players. If nothing controversial is said, I think both the teams will be happy with it. We can't just shut up and play. It's cricket and you've got to do lots of things with the bat and the ball and there should be chit-chat out on the ground."

Dhoni preferred that contentious catches be referred to the third umpire, a procedure which was used in the final two Tests of the series. Before the first Test in Melbourne, Anil Kumble and Ricky Ponting had agreed to take the fielders word but reviewed the pact after the controversial Sydney Test. "I believe in referring it to the third umpire," Dhoni said. "A fielder can mislead so it's important that it's referred to the third umpire."

Was he expecting a hostile reception from a crowd that's expected to be close to 90,000? "If they are not on the field it does not really matter," he said. "We don't care whether we receive a hostile reception or not. In Eden Gardens there are 100,000 spectators, in Kochi there are 80,000 spectators. Still, this is a huge ground and playing in front of such numbers would be exciting."

Karthik falls early as India chase 203

Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

India got off to a nervy start in pursuit of 203, reaching 3 for 1 at lunch on the fourth day after Pakistan's batting obligingly collapsed to leave the first Test tantalisingly poised. India's best run-chase at the Ferozshah Kotla was 190, against Zimbabwe in 2000, and this pitch while appearing benign was nevertheless posing problems for batsmen.

Dinesh Karthik found this out early enough, driving away from his body to a Shoaib Akhtar delivery that moved away just enough after being pitched on a good length. The thin edge was comfortably pouched by Kamran Akmal and Rahul Dravid was out in the middle with just 2 on the board, in the second over of the innings.

Dravid was up against the awkward angle of Sohail Tanvir and the raw pace of Shoaib earlier than he'd have liked, but he was up to seeing off the tricky passage of play that ushered in the lunch break. Wasim Jaffer too ensured that he was unbeaten, and India had put the smallest of dents in the target, still needing 200 to win.

Pakistan's batsmen had every chance of putting themselves in a genuinely strong position, but beginning with Akmal, they wasted the opportunity. Akmal chose to chase a wide one from Zaheer Khan, hitting it straight to Yuvraj Singh, temporarily fielding at point, at perfect catching height.

Tanvir, who is regarded to be something of a handy lower-order batsman, was cagey at the crease from the first ball he faced, playing and missing and even edging between the slip cordon and gully. Zaheer kept up a probing line and when he dropped one short, wide outside the off, Tanvir went for a pull shot that should never have been attempted and ballooned a catch to Harbhajan Singh at square leg.

Misbah-ul-Haq was entirely assured at the crease, playing Anil Kumble with confidence, but he just didn't get the support he needed at the other end. He too fell to recklessness once the new ball was taken, giving Sourav Ganguly the charge. Ganguly was good enough to shorten his length and the attempted heave over long-on was miscued and Karthik took a well-judged catch. With Misbah gone for 45, the end was near and Ganguly winkled out another wicket. Mohammad Sami, who had blocked so determinedly in the first innings, tried to slap Ganguly over midwicket and only managed a top-edge that Jaffer settled under.

Danish Kaneria was never going to pose a massive threat but he ran himself out in circumstances that summed up the Pakistan innings. He played the ball to point and set off down the pitch without much purpose. Sachin Tendulkar returned the ball to Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who, facing away from the stumps, bent over and flicked the ball onto the wickets, dislodging the bails and ending the Pakistan innings on 247. Pakistan's batsmen had played with no application whatsoever, and literally thrown away their wickets on the final morning, adding only 35 runs for the fall of the last five wickets.

Yuvraj's all-round show powers India to series lead

Led by Yuvraj Singh with bat, ball and in the field, India repelled a determined push from Salman Butt to pull off an ultimately comfortable 46-run win at the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur. Butt's fourth ODI hundred intermittently threatened India's 294 but it was built without solid support and ultimately wasn't enough to prevent them taking a 2-1 series lead.

Yuvraj foiled Pakistan at key moments, first with an intelligent, elegant 77, then with a shining run out amid a gloomy fielding performance and finally with a vital wicket. The interventions were necessary for when Pakistan began the chase, their target appeared a stroll.

Perhaps it is the Kanpur air, but Pakistan's openers prosper here. Two years ago, Shahid Afridi terrorised India; today Butt gave them a fright. It had rained boundaries when India's openers were at the crease earlier, but with Butt, Afridi and Younis Khan there came a monsoon. Afridi set the tone from his first ball and though an ugly swish was his end - Irfan Pathan is on top in this battle of Pathans - the boundaries continued.

It wasn't surprising that Butt was in the mix, for against India, he generally is. He averages 45 against them, as compared to 33 overall and all his hundreds have been against them.

Of his initial strokes, not one would be out of place in a Test and if we're familiar with the wristy flourishes through off, his leg-side play was surprisingly prominent. An early pull wide of mid-on was an appetiser, a punch through midwicket in Zaheer Khan's first over, a grand main course and a clip between the two to bring up his fifty a zesty dessert.

But India soon wised up: Zaheer switched to round the wicket, the off side was tightened and Butt's cover drives made redundant. Boundaries vanished, runs slowed and wickets fell. For all their fielding comedy, India - or rather Yuvraj - managed to pull off a spectacular run out when it mattered, with Mohammad Yousuf being the lazy, familiar victim.
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