ICC to dedicate CT final to HIV awareness campaign

The final of the ICC Champions Trophy will be dedicated to the highly successful HIV awareness campaign, THINK WISE, a partnership created in 2009 between the ICC, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director, Ms Jan Beagle will attend the final at Edgbaston tomorrow. She will join ICC President Alan Isaac, Chairman of England and Wales Cricket Board Giles Clarke, and two representatives of people living with HIV, and will walk out with the teams, for the national anthems, in solidarity with HIV-affected people around the globe.

The campaign has been profiled throughout 2013 through dedicated matches, site visits and coaching clinics with international players and other promotional activities.

During the final, both finalists, along with match officials, ICC and ECB staff, will wear red ribbons to raise awareness about the stigma surrounding people living with HIV.

Ms Beagle congratulated the ICC on its commitment to AIDS awareness: “I am moved to see the incredible dedication of the ICC and cricket players to promoting HIV prevention and reaching zero discrimination for people living with HIV. For a decade, UNAIDS and the ICC have been using cricket as an effective avenue to convey lifesaving messages and reach large numbers of people on key issues around AIDS.”

ICC President Alan Isaac added: “I would like to extend a warm welcome to Ms Beagle and it brings me great pleasure that the ICC’s partnership with UNAIDS and UNICEF is flourishing. By walking out with Ms Beagle, Mr Clarke, the two finalists, the match officials and representatives of people living with HIV, the ICC is sending a message to the world about the importance of getting the facts about HIV and stopping the stigma.”

We can handle the English quicks, says Dhoni

M.S. Dhoni is confident that India’s batsmen can handle England’s quick bowlers when the teams meet in the Champions Trophy final on Sunday.

“What we are positive about is that our top order has played some of the best bowlers in world cricket so far in the tournament and done well,” he said. “So they are well prepared for the English bowlers. It’s just that, like in every game, you have to apply yourself.”

Dhoni said India’s approach would be the same it had been for the other games. “Well, we prepare in the same way that we prepared for the semifinals, or when we played against Pakistan. It remains the same, and that’s what our emphasis is on.”

1983, a special year

Reminded that the 30th anniversary of India’s first World Cup win was around the corner, Dhoni said: “1983 was a very special year for us, winning the World Cup for the first time. I would like to wish each and every person who was part of that team, the support staff and whoever was involved, (and say) thanks for giving us the ‘83 World Cup.”

England captain Alastair Cook, meanwhile, admitted that the country’s 38-year hunt for a major trophy was on the players’ minds.

“It’s something which is obviously on our radar. It is very important for us, and one of our major goals this summer was to try and win the Champions Trophy. Not only will it break that duck of 38 years but prepare us for the World Cup as well, if you’re looking long-term.”

Cook said that the team was determined to make the most of this opportunity. “We’re desperate not to let go,” he said. “We’ve been playing a lot this summer, and we’ve been playing some good one-day cricket the last few games. It’s a one-off day. I’m fully confident in our guys that we can upset India in the final.”

Cook admitted, though, that India was the favourite. “They (India) are probably the favourites and they haven’t lost because both the key aspects of the game are working really well. They’re scoring runs at the top of the order and taking wickets with the new ball.”

Rain delays start of Champions Trophy final

Rain has delayed the start of the Champions Trophy final between India and England at Edgbaston in Birmingham on Sunday.

The skies opened up little after England skipper won the toss and elected to bowl.

India have fielded an unchanged side while England have replaced Steven Finn with Tim Bresnan

Teams:

India: M S Dhoni (c & wk), R Ashwin, Shikhar Dhawan, Ravindra Jadeja, Dinesh Karthik, Virat Kohli, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Suresh Raina, Ishant Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Umesh Yadav.

England: Alastair Cook (c), James Anderson, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler (wk), Tim Bresnan, Eoin Morgan, Joe Root, James Tredwell, Jonathan Trott.

I was just hitting the lengths: Ishant

Ishant Sharma may not quite have hit the heights he once managed, but his performance at the Cardiff Wales Stadium on Thursday was a relative peak from the recent past.

“I’ve been bowling very well. I bowled with good rhythm in the IPL too, so I was really confident. I’m carrying that momentum into this tournament,” he said after his spell of three for 33 helped India past Sri Lanka in the semifinals of the Champions Trophy.

Speaking of the pitch, Ishant said: “I didn’t have any specific plan because the wicket was helping fast bowlers. There was bounce and movement. I was just hitting the lengths.”

The Sri Lankan captain, Angelo Mathews, meanwhile lamented his side’s continued failure to convert knock-out appearances into trophies.

“We’re definitely disappointed. The entire nation is also disappointed but at the same time it shows we are doing well. We can’t be happy (merely reaching the semifinals). Our objective was to enter the final.” — Sports Reporter

England in CT final, Proteas choke again

England eased into the Champions Trophy final after finishing off South Africa in a semifinal at The Oval on Wednesday that had all the tension of a practice session.

Tasked with 176 for victory, England could afford to take its time before a subdued, near-capacity crowd to bag the runs in 37.3 overs with seven wickets to spare.

Jonathan Trott and Joe Root combined for 105 from 126 balls to steer England to the brink of the victory. Trott, indispensable to England, hit the winning runs with his 11th boundary in 82 not out off 84 balls.

All the drama on Wednesday was enacted in the morning, when England won the toss, threw the bowlers at South Africa in ideal overcast and muggy conditions, and watched them tear apart the Proteas to be 80-8.

Only a South Africa-record, ninth-wicket stand of 95 between David Miller and Rory Kleinveldt spared them from utter humiliation. A battery without the fearsome but injured Dale Steyn couldn’t defend 175 in better batting conditions in the afternoon.

Fast bowler James Anderson started the rout in the day’s first over and took 2-14, while off-spinner James Tredwell tied up the middle-order in claiming 3-19 and an assist in a run out.

Pacemen Stuart Broad and Steven Finn were relatively expensive, but their first wickets were the biggest prizes - de Villiers and Hashim Amla respectively, and out for one run between them.

Both Proteas openers were gone within the first 10 deliveries.

Colin Ingram was undone by Anderson in the first over before he’d scored, then Amla made only 1 before he nicked Steven Finn off the toe of his bat and gave wicketkeeper Jos Buttler the first of his six catches.

Finn was brought in for Tim Bresnan and was seen off by Robin Peterson, who struck three successive boundaries off the fast bowler.

But Peterson, dropped on 25 off Broad, made 30 before he was trapped by Anderson, who set up his fall impressively.

De Villiers lasted nine balls without scoring before he edged behind off Broad, who almost had replacement batsman JP Duminy on the next ball. But Duminy had the lbw decision against him reversed on review. When he was still to get off the mark, Duminy backed up to Tredwell and was hit middle and leg, confirmed by TV replay. But England didn’t review.

The damage was minimal. Duminy was bowled for 3, third time unlucky, to Tredwell at 63-5 in the 17th over.

Du Plessis edged Tredwell behind for 26, Ryan McLaren was run out for 1 by a smart Trott, and when Chris Morris gave another caught-behind off Tredwell, who had 3-8 off 17 balls, the Proteas were eight down for 80.

Without pressure, Miller and Kleinveldt slogged sensibly for 16 overs. Kleinveldt’s best ODI score of 43 was ended by Broad, who also claimed last man Lonwabo Tsotsobe off the next ball to leave Miller stranded on 56 not out.

Familiarity not an advantage: Dhoni

When it was put to M.S. Dhoni that India was in many eyes the favourite to win the Champions Trophy, having started otherwise, his reaction was the obvious one.

“I think it was started by you guys and ended by you guys,” he said, slipping into a wry smile. “We just came here to play some good cricket, and that’s what we have been doing.”

India’s opponent in the semifinal is an endlessly common one. But that familiarity would not be an advantage to any one team, Dhoni felt.

“It works the same for both sides. If we say we find it easier, then it would be the same for Sri Lanka. It's just that we play quite often; either we go to Sri Lanka or they come to India, and we also have the Asia Cup.

“It helps both the sides to prepare themselves really well, and you can cut off those extra 15 minutes of time that you would have spent in a team meeting,” he said.

India’s past record over Sri Lanka, including victory in the World Cup final, would not matter under these different circumstances, Dhoni stated. “A significant amount of changes have been made to the (ODI) format; so I don't think we can really count all those stats. It’s also the fact that both the teams are looking very different (since the World Cup). Sri Lanka has a really good squad but they are going through a phase where they are missing some of their players,” he said.

Mathews is upbeat

Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews, meanwhile, believed his side was capable of putting it past India.

“There's no word called revenge in sport, but if we can beat the Indians, it will be a great achievement for the whole team because there are thoughts about the World Cup final, and the recent history against them is not very good,” he said.

“But on our day we can beat any team.”

Mathews praised his troops’ qualities, of being able to dig their way out of trouble.

“We are a fighting team and we fight to the last moment,” he said. “All three games went down to the wire, and we had to fight really hard to win. So the team confidence is very high.”

India faces a tricky opponent in Sri Lanka

If this is what transition looks like, India will take it every day of the week. Three wins in three games, batsmen that have scored without hassle, bowlers that have provided a steady feed of wickets, and arguably the best team of fielders the country has ever put out — to think of a favourite for the Champions Trophy now is elementary.

For a young side that has been freshly put together, it’s not been a bad way to begin. India may have landed on these shores minus illustrious names and thus with somewhat reduced expectations but in two weeks, the worm has turned. Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma put South Africa to the sword and inflicted similar pains on the West Indies; Ravindra Jadeja has bowled as if in Chennai; and Bhuvneshwar Kumar has quietly gone about stealing early wickets.

Not that there can be any comparison but in essence, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, and Zaheer Khan have not been greatly missed. Indeed only three of the 11 that played the 2011 World Cup final are here; yet M.S. Dhoni stands two games away from another major trophy.

His and India’s immediate hurdle, in the semifinals at the Cardiff Wales Stadium on Thursday, is a vastly familiar one in Sri Lanka. The teams have faced each other 40 times in the last five years; India has won the majority of those games, including seven out of 10 since the World Cup final. Yet, for all of India’s stern confidence, Sri Lanka — a team that revels in being in the knock-outs — presents a slightly tricky prospect. This is a rival on the upswing, one that fell at the hands of New Zealand before a surprisingly mighty recovery over England and a defeat of Australia. Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene have, to nobody’s surprise, been at the vanguard of both those triumphs.

Dhoni’s first concern will be to keep the two quiet, for they are unlikely to find India’s spin bowling as unpalatable as the previous three opponents. Jadeja and R. Ashwin, to whose needs conditions here have been more acquiescent than supposed, have more riding on their efforts than in other games.

The rest of Sri Lanka’s batting does not overly induce worry; Nuwan Kulasekara, a swing bowling all-rounder not unlike Bhuvneshwar, and Lahiru Thirimanne, a solid middle-order batsman, have made fifties but contributions from other parts have been patchy.

Of Sri Lanka’s biggest bowling weapon, Lasith Malinga, India will hold no fear. Through the IPL and the countries’ repeated engagements, he is now no demon to face but a routine, good bowler. Malinga averages more than 40 over India, as against 26.12 in his career, while Virat Kohli has notably shredded him at Hobart. This will all create a swell of assurance though there will be some limited caution, particularly given the bowler’s form in this competition, where he has claimed seven wickets already.

Both teams have played at Cardiff once and although a fresh strip is to be used on Thursday, it is not expected to behave vastly differently.

The giant factor, however, is the rain, which marred the 2002 Champions Trophy final and ensured India and Sri Lanka split the prize. The forecast for Thursday is torrid, with some rain predicted throughout the day.

In the event of a washout, India, by virtue of topping Group ‘B’, will advance to the final.