2nd ODI: India vs South Africa team.

                                       The Teams

India:

Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt & wk)

 Shikhar Dhawan

 Rohit Sharma,

Virat Kohli

Yuvraj Singh

Suresh Raina

R Ashwin

Ravindra Jadeja

 Mohammad Shami

 Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Umesh Yadav

 Ishant Sharma

 Amit Mishra,

Ambati Rayudu

 Ajinkya Rahane.

South Africa:

 A B de Villiers (capt)

 Hashim Amla

 Quinton de Kock (wk)

 J P Duminy

Imran Tahir

 Jacques Kallis

 RyanMcLaren

David Miller

 Morne Morkel

 Wayne Parnell

 Vernon Philande

Graeme Smith

 Dale Steyn

 Lonwabo Tsotsobe. 

Dhoni talks about 2nd ODI .

Durban: Faced with a do-or-die situation after their crushing 141-run defeat in the first match, India would look to turn around their fortunes with an improved show, especially in the bowling department, when they take on South Africa in the second ODI here on Sunday.

The Indians, licking their wounds after an embarrassing defeat in Johannesburg, have been left with no other option but to win tomorrow to stay afloat in the three-match series which has been dedicated to anti-apartheid icon and former president Nelson Mandela who passed away yesterday.

They were greeted by overcast conditions at this eastern coastal city which has been experiencing rain for the past week. Although there was talk that the pitch at Kingsmead stadium will be more to the Indians` liking, the lack of sun will surely have a bearing in some manner.

The whole of South Africa is mourning following the sad demise of Mandela and the Indian team, for once, would be hoping that their opponents are distracted.

The visitors though have other things to be concerned about, most of all, their bowling. That it was their weakest link has been known to one and all. However, the audacity with which Quinton de Kock, A B de Villers and JP Duminy butchered the Indian bowlers mystified many.
Poor bowling is one thing, and youngsters tend to learn and adapt as the game progresses. But they were not allowed to settle down as the South African batsmen plundered runs almost at will in Johannesburg.

One of the main reasons for the carnage-like experience in Johannesburg was due to lack of pace in the bowling of the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohit Sharma. Add short bowling and poor control to it, and the South African batsmen had it easier than net practice.

Only Mohammed Shami, during his opening spell, seemed to have some uneasy deliveries for de Kock and Hashim Amla, as he has more pace. And that is precisely what the Indian bowlers were lacking on that Wanderers pitch as Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel extracted pace and bounce by their fast stuff later that day.

Perhaps the Indian team think-tank made a mistake by leaving out Umesh Yadav. He is the quickest bowler of the lot and has a fair bit of experience of playing overseas as well.

If the overcast conditions here persist and the pitch turns out similar to the last game, Yadav could take Bhuvneshwar Kumar's place in playing eleven. If not, the two spinners, R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, will be hoping that they have a better role to play other than just fill up overs and get hit for runs.

South Africa, on the other hand, might look at leg-spinner Imran Tahir for a place in playing XI tomorrow. Also, in his post-match comments, South African skipper AB de Villiers talked about 'flirting with the idea of playing seven batsmen, with Graeme Smith opening and Quinton de Kock batting at number three'.

A drier, flatter pitch could see South Africa turn out with that combination and it will be a boost to Smith's flagging ODI career. However, it will have to be seen if they would disturb a batting combination that has scored 358 runs on a pitch that was not tailor-made for a 300-plus total.
That also absolves the Indian batsmen of some fault in the first ODI. They were never really going to chase 359 runs, not on that wicket. This was not a sub-continental sleeping beauty, where the likes of Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli could just swagger their way to a mesmerizing win.

The Wanderers pitch was a demon in the hands of true-bred fast bowlers, with Steyn and company using it so. The fact that Sharma, who has been on a sizzling run with an ODI double hundred plus another and two Test hundreds on the trot, took 16 deliveries to get bat on ball against Steyn, says it all.

Basically, the Indian batsmen needed to play for time, get used to conditions in the light of not having played a practice game here prior to ODI series, and use that innings as an exercise to build-up for the next two matches as well as the rest of the tour.

Sadly, they couldn't do it in the first match. Maybe, they will be ready mentally for the second match on Sunday.

Ahead of the first ODI, Dhoni had spoken about pressure on the team that loses in Johannesburg. He had said that there would not by any time to recover for the side who loses the opening match. Now, he and his players will be fighting for survival on Sunday.

Indian team is not scared of anyone, says Virat Kohli.

Durban: India vice-captain Virat Kohli on Saturday dismissed South Africa pacer Dale Steyn`s notion that he and his team-mates were `frightened` of the Proteas` attack, saying they were good enough to tackle the host pace battery.

South African pacers had peppered the Indians with fast and short-pitched balls in the series-opener and went on to record a crushing 141-run win.

On the eve of the second ODI here tomorrow, Steyn said they had actually managed to frighten the Indian batsmen at the Wanderers.

But Kohli refused to endorse the Steyn statement.

"I don`t think anyone in this Indian team is frightened of anything. On a personal level, I don`t think so. Off the fourth ball I was down the wicket. It is not about getting frightened, he is a quality bowler and we all know that. We should be good enough to tackle that and come up with the goods when we face them," Kohli asserted.

"Regardless of the loss the other day, you didn’t see anyone closing their eyes or swinging their bats around," the aggressive Indian batsman, who batted at number three in Johannesburg and faced the initial onslaught of their pace battery, added.

Kohli, though was effusive in his praise for Steyn.

"He was quite brilliant the other day, he is a world class bowler and we all know that. To bowl three maiden overs when we are chasing 359 is a skill that is very rare. To see him swing the ball from middle stumps and get it past the off-stump, actually the fifth off-stump, it was tough to face but it was something very rare because not many can swing the ball like he does," Kohli said.

"We were trying hard to counter the bowling they came up with and they were bowling in great areas and no one was moving away from stumps, we were all trying to get into position to play correct shots but they pitched it in the right areas and were able to trouble us,” he explained.

At the same time, he impressed upon the importance of bowling well and restricting the South African batting.

Even so, Kohli defended the batsmen since they were faced with enviable task of chasing an improbable 359 on a pitch that afforded demonic pace and bounce to Steyn and company.

"When you are chasing 359 there is not much you can do, you may have a set plan that you don’t want to play flashy shots in the beginning but when you are chasing a big total like that, you have no choice but to play those shots,” he said.

When reminded that he struck some beautiful boundaries in counter-attacking mode, and that skipper MS Dhoni also started his knock of 65 in similarly aggressive fashion, Kohli negated this theory.

"The situation was such that you had to try and disrupt their length and score boundaries and if you let the run-rate grow in South Africa, it is difficult to chase down such targets. I mean I was pretty confident in my mind that I could take them on and when Rohit was finding it difficult for the ball to hit the bat, I told him to carry on and that there shouldn’t be a rash shot and I decided to take them on and play a few shots and I connected a few," he replied.

"But counter-attacking cannot always be an option, and isn’t the only option and it is only when you get stuck in such situations then you do that. It is about assessing conditions, the bowlers and not just step out and not knowing what to do," Kohli added.

He has been at the fore-front of many run-chases this season, as well as the last couple of years. But a 300-plus target can rarely be chased in conditions that merit genuine fast bowling.

"We have to sort of restrict them with our bowling first and then chase it down or vice-versa if we are batting first,” Kohli said.

"Our bowlers have been bowling in the sub-continent for a while now and the lengths cannot be adjusted at such a short notice. It has just been one match and the unfortunate part is that we didn’t get that many practice sessions or practice games."

Kohli hinted that the team-management was not considering changing Indian batting order or in fact the six first-choice batsmen, for what is a must-win game on Sunday.

But it could be a pre-cursor to team India making some changes, particularly in the bowling department, especially with Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav in the running on account of their superior pace as compared to Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohit Sharma.

"In ODIs you need fixed slots because you need to plan your innings, know how to go about that. The top-four have to be prepared mentally and I think that it is important for them to hold to their slots. We have learnt from the previous game and you will see a much better performance from the bowlers and batsmen combined. I hope we pitch the ball in the right areas and perform well.”

"We always knew that we will get bounce and pace in South Africa. I don’t think we are caught in a trap anyhow. It is a game of cricket tomorrow and any side plays it well will win the game regardless of the conditions," Kohli signed off.

Team India pays respect to late Nelson Mandela.

Durban: Indian vice-captain Virat Kohli, on behalf of the entire team, paid tribute to the late former president Nelson Mandela on Saturday.

"Our condolences to his family and everyone related to him. We were shocked when we got to know about it, late after the game on Thursday," he said.

Late on Thursday evening, South Africa was thrown into a solemn mood when it was announced that Mandela had passed away at the age of 95. The entire country is in mourning, for this is their biggest loss as a society.

"It was a very sad feeling, I was shocked and I didn’t really know that he was ill," said Kohli.

"It was a sad moment for everyone, all around the world, he has changed the face of this country and the change he brought about was something that no one else had done before. Not having the great man around is not a good feeling because he has done a lot not only for South Africa but all around the world for people everywhere," the Indian batsman added.

Doing its bit to honour Mandela, Cricket South Africa had on Friday declared the ongoing ODI series versus India a `dedication` to him.

Mitchell Johnson takes magnificent seven wickets vs England.

Wrecking ball Mitchell Johnson laid further scars on England's battered psyche with a stunning seven-wicket haul that skittled the tourists for 172 and put Australia in complete control of the second Ashes test after the third day on Saturday.

The red-hot Queenslander unleashed a withering spell of pace bowling at Adelaide Oval to take three wickets in his second over after lunch, then cleaned up the tail before tea to leave England 199 runs short of avoiding the follow-on.

With the luxury of a further two days' play, Australia captain Michael Clarke sent his batsmen in to give his bowlers a rest and fired by an unbeaten 83 from opener David Warner, they pushed the lead to a mammoth 530 runs.Australia will make England sweat in the field until close to lunch on day four, which is forecast to be a sweltering 32 degrees Celsius, before their bowlers push for the win on a pitch showing ample turn and reverse swing.

"We want to get them back out there in the field and keep cooking them a bit," Johnson said.

"It's probably going to be a day five wicket out there tomorrow. You could see the amount of spin the two spinners out there were getting and that variable bounce has definitely come in and they got the ball to reverse really early, so it's good signs for us."

No team has ever made more than 418 in a fourth innings chase, and England, improbably, are staring at a 2-0 deficit in the five-test series ahead of a trip to Johnson's favourite hunting ground in Perth where England have not won since 1978.

Only months after returning home from England in ignominy after a third straight Ashes defeat, Australia's turnaround has been little short of astonishing, and the principal architect has been the man selectors snubbed for the northern series.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni strikes record bat deal for Rs 25 crore.

A Rs 25 crore deal has confirmed MS Dhoni's status as world cricket's biggest name, with two brands in sports and education, Spartan Sports and Amity University, jumping on to the opportunity to piggyback on the India captain.

Dhoni is an addition to a Spartan Sports lineup that already features Australian Test captain Michael Clarke and Olympic gold medal-winning Australian swimmer Stephanie Rice on its rolls.

The range, '7 by MSD', is expected to enter the market soon and Dhoni's bats will also sport the logo. Spartan Sports said they would benefit from Dhoni's direct involvement in promoting the exclusive range.

'Thrilled'

"MS Dhoni is one of the world's best cricket players and a global sports icon that has transcended generations and cultures," Spartan Sports managing director Kunal Sharma said. "This relationship will create innovative cricket products. We are extremely thrilled."

The logo of Amity University, a group with interests in education, will also feature on Dhoni's bat. The company said it forged the association because its core motto, 'Always on Top', matched Dhoni's captaincy record.

"We are happy to have MS Dhoni joining us. He's one of the stellar personalities in India and international cricket," Atul Chauhan, chancellor of Amity University, said.

The India captain, who is now in South Africa, was represented by Arun Pandey of Rhiti Sports — the company that has been managing the player for some time now.

"When marketing high-profile figures, we are always focused on building long-term partnerships. The cooperation between MS Dhoni, Spartan Sports and Amity is the result of sophisticated analyses as well as the high standards and patience to find the right partner," Pandey said.

Virat Kohli can step into Sachin Tendulkar's shoes: Allan Donald

Allan Donald has paid a massive tribute to Mahendra Singh Dhoni's young Team India saying this is an outfit that can look the opponent in the eye. Unlike previous Indian squads which found pace and bounce difficult to handle, Donald feels the current team will not be intimidated by South African pitches and their traditional bounce and pace. Speaking to DNA, Donald, now a TV commentator, said: "The best thing I like about India now is that they have hardened up. They are no more that team that used to come to South Africa and were left intimidated by our pitches -- the bounce and the pace. The difference is in their approach. They have a killer instinct going and a lot of young blood has changed perceptions.

India arrived in Johannesburg on Monday for a three-ODI and two-Test series. The series, drastically curtailed due to a myriad of administrative issues between the Indian cricket Board and its South African counterpart, will be a mouth-watering affair with India as the world's leading ODI team and South Africa, No. 1 in the ICC Test rankings. Donald reckons this India team must be treated with great respect and had the ability to live with a Sachin Tendulkar.

Virat Kohli, of course, will be the man in the spotlight. Many see the prolific Kohli, the No. 1 ODI batsman in the world, as the man to fill Tendulkar's big shoes and Donald is no different. "Look how well Virat Kohli is playing. I feel Kohli seems to step into the shoes Sachin left behind. I know it is impossible to replace a legend like him but Kohli has been amazing. His recent records speak about his talent," Donald said.

With more than 600 international wickets, Donald was known for lethal pace and his run-ins with the world's best batsmen Known as White Lighting, Donald feels Indian bowlers are well equipped to exploit the conditions in South Africa. The 47-year-old former star picks out Mohammed Shami Ahmed for special mention and says with a white Kookaburra ball in his hand, "he will run in hard." Donald said: "I am really impressed with Mohammad Shami. He looks like a tough guy. He executes the swing pretty good."

Backing Zaheer Khan for his rich experience, Pune Warriors coach Donald says Bhuvneshwar Kumar will be a handful too. "He can reverse the ball both ways and they can be handy. If he generates some bounce, he will do good in South Africa," said Donald. Considering Donald's analysis, it will be foolish to say India will go in as the underdogs. With their batsmen in prime form, India's bowlers will be no punching bags.

India should win SA tour to make an impact: Sourav Ganguly..

Indian cricket team's upcoming tour of South Africa is one of the highly anticipated series in recent times. The conditions in South Africa are traditionally conducive for fast bowling and the young Indian side have their task cut out. Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly says the bowlers have to rise to the occasion.

"I think the selectors have picked good team for the South African tour. India will have to bowl well to make an impact in this series and win it. We have Zaheer's experience, Shami's pace, Bhuvneshwar and Umesh are in form, it's a very good line up," said the former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly who was in Chennai for Apollo Munich Health Insurance 'Energy' launch.

Dada was all praise for the young pace bowler Mohammed Shami. "Shami has done exceptionally well, he has got pace. Pace doesn't come naturally and it's special to anyone," said Ganguly.

The southpaw opener Gautam Gambhir who hasn't played for India after ODI series against England was expected to make a comeback in this series; however he has been ignored by the selectors again. Asked Ganguly on who should bat at number 4 in Gambir's omission, "Dhoni should be thinking. I think it's going to Virat Kohli at number 4, Rohit Sharma at number 5 and M S Dhoni needs to find someone for 6," he added.

When asked if the doors have been finally opened for sportspersons to receive India's highest civilian award, Bharat Ratna and his thoughts on the god of cricket receiving it, "Sachin is India's Bharat Ratna. This man has done it for 25 years; he deserves every bit of it," he quipped.

ICC Rankings for Tests, ODIs and Twenty20..

ICC Test Championship

16 November 2013
Team	Matches	Points	Rating
South Africa	27	3531	131
India	33	3920	119
England	38	4407	116
Pakistan	25	2538	102
Australia	33	3318	101
West Indies	25	2366	95
Sri Lanka	26	2295	88
New Zealand	30	2243	75
Zimbabwe	11	372	34
Bangladesh	16	285	18

ICC ODI Championship

30 November 2013
Team	Matches	Points	Rating
India	56	6852	122
Australia	42	4808	114
England	42	4671	111
Sri Lanka	51	5605	110
South Africa	42	4482	107
Pakistan	53	5279	100
West Indies	44	3958	90
New Zealand	34	2899	85
Bangladesh	26	2165	83
Zimbabwe	26	1439	55
Ireland	11	423	38
Netherlands	7	88	13
Kenya	4	40	10

ICC Twenty20 Championship

30 November 2013
Team	Matches	Points	Rating
Sri Lanka	22	2326	129
India	19	1843	123
South Africa	29	2418	123
Pakistan	37	3253	120
West Indies	22	2041	120
England	28	2357	112
Australia	26	2047	102
New Zealand	27	2139	102
Ireland	14	783	87
Bangladesh	15	791	72
Afghanistan	13	847	71
Netherlands	12	508	56
Scotland	13	545	50
Zimbabwe	16	553	46
Kenya	17	633	42
Canada	8	11	2