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Queensland batsman Joe Burns is set for a Boxing Day Test debut against India after being added to Australia’s Test squad in place of the injured Mitchell Marsh. The inclusion of Burns for Marsh is the only change to Australia’s 13-man squad for the Melbourne Test, although Marsh will travel with the group in preparation for the Sydney Test as he recovers from a hamstring complaint.Burns, 25, has enjoyed a strong start to the Sheffield Shield season for Queensland, piling up 439 runs at 54.87 to follow up 563 runs at 46.91 last summer. An innings of 183 against a strong New South Wales pace attack at the Gabba was watched by the selectors Trevor Hohns and Mark Waugh.Australia’s coach Darren Lehmann said that Burns’ flexibility as a batsman – he started as a middle-order player before moving up to open near the start of last summer – was a key factor in the decision. Burns has scored first-class hundreds while opening and batting at Nos.3, 4 and 5, and Lehmann said it was not yet decided where he would fit into the order.”I’ll have to speak to Steven [Smith], the skipper about that,” Lehmann said. “But he can fit anywhere from 1 to 6. That’s the advantage with Joe, he can bat in the middle order or up high. We’ve got some flexibility there. It depends on which way we want to go.”That helped to sway the selectors in Burns’ favour ahead of Ed Cowan and Adam Voges, who are the leading two run scorers in the Sheffield Shield this season; Cowan is regarded as a specialist opener and Voges a middle-order player. The youth of Burns was another factor that encouraged the selectors that he was the right man.One option would be to slot Burns in at No.3 and move Shane Watson down to No.6, given that Watson will be expected to shoulder a reasonable bowling workload as the only allrounder in the side. Lehmann said Watson bowled well in the victory at the Gabba and another allrounder was not required, meaning a specialist batsman was preferred.

Burns excited at call-up

Joe Burns has said he was not expecting a Test call-up but is excited that he will make his debut on Boxing Day, and with Darren Lehmann as his coach. Lehmann was in charge of the Queensland side when Burns first emerged as a domestic batsman of note.
“It’s incredibly exciting, especially at this time of year,” Burns said. “I’m really looking forward to getting amongst the team learning the way the boys play and the team culture and go from there full steam ahead on Boxing Day.
“I am looking forward to having Boof as Australian coach. I really enjoyed playing under him and if I do play on Boxing Day it will be with great pride that he’s my first Australian coach. Hopefully there’s plenty of games to come.”
Burns was speaking in Sydney ahead of a BBL game for the Brisbane Heat on Sunday night, but he will have to switch his focus quickly back to the longer format on Monday. “It’s going to be a challenge playing tonight the Thunder but when I wake up tomorrow morning it will be full focus on preparing for that Test match,” he said. “As a professional cricketer you start to do that more and more, going from game to game and changing your focus as you need.”

He acknowledged the death of Phillip Hughes and a long-term knee injury for Usman Khawaja had opened up the opportunity for Burns. However, his first-class average of 42.74 is an indication of his ability and at the MCG he has played three first-class innings for scores of 59, 123 and 71.”He’s a very good player against fast bowling,” Lehmann said. “He’s proved that. He’s played at the Gabba for the last couple of years and had a good couple of summers in Shield cricket. His performances this year have been very good.”He got a good 180 here against Doug Bollinger and Trevor Hohns and Mark Waugh saw that and were very impressed with that. There’s been some good contenders for that spot. It’s always a tough call on other players but we went with Joe, a younger player. We think he’s got something about him. We hope he does well.”Lehmann has seen plenty of Burns, having been his state coach at Queensland before being appointed to the national role. Burns scored 140 not out on first-class debut in February 2011 and knows his game well; he plays with a straight bat and plays the ball as late as possible, which has helped him at the Gabba, where Sheffield Shield pitches offer plenty for the seamers.”When I [first] saw him play, I thought he could really play at the next level,” Lehmann said. “It’s taken him a while, he’s had some ups and downs like all players do. He’s put his name up at the right time. An opportunity comes up now. He’s got to grab it.””He’s a good young kid, a cricket nuffy, which we love in our side. He’ll be excited by the call up. He was certainly excited when Rod [Marsh] called him about an hour ago. He’s done everything he can to present himself as the player he is. He’s a very aggressive player, which is always good to see. That’s the way we like to play. Hes’ a simple guy that just loves playing the game.”Burns will play in the Big Bash League match for the Brisbane Heat in Sydney on Sunday night before flying to Melbourne to join the Test squad. Lehmann believes that David Warner should be fit for Boxing Day after being struck on the thumb during the small chase at the Gabba on Saturday, while Mitchell Marsh’s recovery from his hamstring injury remains to be seen.Ryan Harris is likely to be ready for the Boxing Day Test after missing the Brisbane match due to a quadriceps injury. Harris and Peter Siddle bowled in the nets at the Gabba on Sunday morning and Lehmann said Harris came through the session well.Squad David Warner, Chris Rogers, Shane Watson, Steven Smith (capt), Shaun Marsh, Joe Burns, Brad Haddin (wk), Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Starc, Ryan Harris, Peter Siddle, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood

سجل فريق الأهلي هدف التعادل في شباك سيمبا التنزاني، في المباراة المقامة حاليًا ضمن منافسات بطولة دوري السوبر الإفريقي.

يخوض الأهلي مواجهة هامة أمام نظيره سيمبا التنزاني، في ذهاب دور ربع نهائي دوري السوبر الإفريقي، وتشير النتيجة إلى التعادل 2-2.

اقرأ أيضًا.. مباشر بالفيديو | مباراة الأهلي وسيمبا في دوري السوبر الإفريقي

وأحرز هدف الأهلي الثاني محمود عبد المنعم كهربا مستغلًا كرة ياسر ابراهيم مدافع الفريق التي ارتدت من حارس سيمبا ليضعها في شباك الفريق التنزاني في الدقيقة 63.

وتستمر منافسات بطولة دوري السوبر الإفريقي على مدار أربعة أسابيع بدايٍة من لقاءات ربع النهائي التي تبدأ اليوم 20 أكتوبر الجاري، بينما تُلعب مباريات دور نصف النهائي في الفترة ما بين 29 أكتوبر و1 نوفمبر، والنهائي يومي 5 و11 نوفمبر 2023.

وكان الاتحاد الإفريقي قد أكد أن النسخة الأولى من المسابقة تعد تمهيدًا للنسخة الكاملة التي ستضم 24 ناديًا لكرة القدم الأعلى تصنيفًا في القارة الإفريقية وستبدأ خلال موسم كرة القدم 2024/2025.  هدف الأهلي الثاني في شباك سيمبا التنزاني (محمود كهربا)

England have claimed the series, 2-0 up with one to play, but there are points on offer for the Women’s Championship

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Aug-2014England have claimed the series, 2-0 up with one to play, but there are points on offer for the Women’s Championship. Whether India can add to their Test win may depend on the weather, however, after overnight rain in London delayed the start.

Alastair Cook believes the English public remain largely behind the team despite the events of the winter and its dramatic fallout.

Andrew McGlashan21-May-2014Alastair Cook believes the English public remain largely behind the team despite the events of the winter and its dramatic fallout.After a somewhat bitty start to the international season with a rain-effected game in Scotland then the T20 defeat to Sri Lanka on Tuesday, which Cook was not involved in, he now gets hold of the team for his first extended run since the one-day series in Australia, which resulted in a 4-1 defeat and, momentarily at least, led to Cook considering his future.Others did pay with their positions with Andy Flower and Kevin Pietersen the highest-profile casualties. Pietersen’s absence continues to be a source of much debate especially on social media, fuelled by Giles Clarke’s recent comments that people need to “move on” from the issue and not helped by England struggling to regain winning form.That Cook has retained his position, seemingly without too many questions asked, has also caused some consternation from his more vocal critics but Cook insists he has not personally felt any animosity from the fans.”I’m sure if you live your life on social media it would be slightly different but from the people I’ve bumped into in the street or the pub the goodwill is still there to English cricket,” he said. “That’s only what I’ve experienced and it is slightly different when you meet people face-to-face I’m sure.”People were obviously disappointed with the winter, as any cricket fan would be, and the players were disappointed as well, that’s a given. We are incredibly lucky with the support we’ve got, as we always have whether we’ve won or lost, and as players were are incredible grateful for the support we get.”But a continued struggle to string wins together this summer against Sri Lanka and India will start to test the patience of even the most loyal supporters.”No-one’s got a divine right to win a game of cricket,” Cook said. “Sri Lanka are an incredibly dangerous side so we’ve got to play some good aggressive cricket. We are going to leave it all out there and we are desperate for a good performance. But that doesn’t guarantee anything. The fresh start and stuff is brilliant but it’s all now down to playing some good cricket.”

“It would be ideal if everything was settled and everyone knew their role. But we don’t know the 13 or 14 we’ll take out there. They’ll be the decisions we start making now.”Alastair Cook

In this one-day series there is also a bigger picture to look at with the World Cup now less than nine months away. Cook took on the 50-over captaincy in 2011 following the previous tournament as England began another cycle of trying to overcome their woes in the premier global event, but Cook conceded that they are nowhere near as clear on their line-up as he had hoped they would be.”I remember in 2011 sitting down when I first started as England captain saying I want this four years to build up and come the World Cup we’ll have a settled side leading into it. I’d hoped to have eight or nine months where it would be settled. That was the theory but I probably wasn’t living in the world of reality if I’m being honest because a lot can happen in four years as we’ve seen.”Of course, it would be ideal if everything was settled and everyone knew their role. But we don’t know the 13 or 14 we’ll take out there. They’ll be the decisions we start making now because of what happened over the last three or four months. We build towards the World Cup from now.”One aspect of the team Cook did seem much more certain of was the continuation of his opening partnership with Ian Bell. There has been much clamour to shake up England’s top order, but the continued absence of Alex Hales showed that was not top of the selectors’ thoughts and it does not appear as Michael Carberry, who had a poor T20 yesterday, will split the incumbent pairing although he could yet bat at No. 3.There is logic in retaining the current partnership which is the second-highest scoring first-wicket combination for England: in 33 innings since they came together on a full-time basis in June 2012 they have averaged 42.28 and even in Australia were regularly forming a solid platform which gives Cook the confidence they can work in a variety of conditions.”If you look back to that Australia one-day series there were five very different wickets we had to play on,” Cook said. “So at Perth when it was a belter and we needed a quick start because we knew 300 would be a par score we got off to a really good start. So we have got the power to do that. But there’ll be other times in England or say Adelaide when you’re playing on a slow wicket and it nips around a bit. You need the guys to adapt their skills to handle those conditions. That’s what I’m looking for as a side.”Quite what England will do with the other end of the order was not quite so certain. James Anderson is back to take the new ball which will give the attack an added edge, and greater experience, but the major vulnerability remains at the death. Harry Gurney impressed in the T20 but, two matches into his international career, he will need someone to share the burden. If England continue to haemorrhage runs in the latter stages Cook will find it difficult to secure the wins to ensure the fans remain on side.

Ottis Gibson, the West Indies coach, has warned England they will face a far tougher proposition when Chris Gayle returns to the side

George Dobell03-Mar-2014Ottis Gibson, the West Indies coach, has warned England they will face a far tougher proposition when Chris Gayle returns to the side.Gayle, who has been unavailable for the ODI series in Antigua due to a back injury, is due to return to the nets in Barbados over the next couple of days with a view to playing in the T20 series on the island that starts on Sunday.West Indies’ top-order have struggled in both the first two games. Wrong-footed by England’s tactic of using their spinners in the opening overs – England utilised four spinners within the first 12 overs in the second ODI – West Indies slipped to 45-5 in the first match and 30-3 in the second.While Gibson accepted that his side’s top-order batting had been “pretty average”, he believes there is nothing to fear in England’s spin attack and that Gayle’s return will force England to reconsider their approach of utilising spin bowling in the open overs.”Chris will be back,” Gibson said. “That will make a huge difference to our approach and how other teams approach us. Chris facing this spin might be a little bit different. He will be in Barbados in the next couple of days getting ready for the T20. All the reports suggest he should be ready.”There’s been some pretty average batting over the course of the two games. We got out of jail in the first game with Darren Sammy and Dwayne Bravo putting on 100 in 7 overs at the end, but that’s not going to happen every day. We need to play better at the top of the order.”We played the spin quite well at the World T20 in Sri Lanka two years ago and we know we can play it better than this. We just have to go out and do it.Otts Gibson has warned England to watch out for Chis Gayle’ return•West Indies Cricket

“We’ve got Saqlain Mushtaq in our coaching team and our guys face him in the nets. And if you can play Saqlain, you should be able to handle Joe Root a little bit better. James Tredwell is the main spinner and he hasn’t had a lot of wickets. He’s bowled tight but he’s not spun us out. To be losing wickets at the top of the order to Root and Moeen Ali, well, that hurts a little bit.”On the first day, we never expected Root to open the bowling and bowl tight the way he did. So we had a good meeting and discussed it. But to come back and the same thing to happen again in the second game is disappointing for sure.”While Gibson accepted that this ODI series pitted two “tentative” teams against one another, he did celebrate the participation of Sunil Narine.Narine has proved close to unplayable at times in the first two ODIs on the spin-friendly surface in Antigua, conceding just 61 runs in 20 overs so far and leading Gibson to hail him “the No. 1 spinner in the world.””Every team we’ve played against in these conditions has struggled to pick him and score off him,” Gibson said. “He’s the No.1 spinner in the world and we’re happy to have him in our team for sure.”But these are just two teams seeking desperately to play some good cricket. Everybody looks very tentative. Our batsmen look tentative against their spinners up front and their batsmen look tentative also. That’s what happens when you have two pretty fragile teams playing against one another.”Gibson also expressed his confusion over the dismissal of Dwayne Bravo in the second ODI. West Indies’ captain was adjudged to be out stumped by a fumbling Jos Buttler despite inconclusive evidence that the ball hit the stumps or was in the keeper’s hands when the bails were removed.”I’m still confused,” Gibson said. “I never saw anything that said the ball hit the stumps. But we’re not allowed to discuss those things.”The captain was in, and was getting a good score and got 80 odd in the first game. It was a turning point in the match.”There was nothing conclusive for us upstairs. I’m sure they know why they gave it out, but it changed the game from our point of view.”

MatériaMais Notícias

De fora do Campeonato Brasileiro da Série A desde 1985, quando chegou à terceira posição na competição, o elenco do Brasil de Pelotas quer fazer história esse ano ao levar o clube novamente para a elite do futebol brasileiro após 33 anos.

Contratado pela diretoria Xavante no início do ano, o atacante Douglas Baggio, revelado pelo Santa Cruz e com passagem pelo Flamengo, falou sobre essa expectativa.

– Não iniciamos a Série B como gostaríamos, mas a competição é assim mesmo: perdemos em casa e agora vamos ter a chance de recuperar fora. Levar o Brasil de Pelotas à Série A após esse período longe da elite do futebol nacional seria história. Temos que sonhar. Tudo é possível. Vamos lutar muito para alcançar esta meta – comentou Douglas.

Ainda de acordo com o atacante, que já esteve presente em três Séries B (Luverdense, duas vezes, além do Boa Esporte), ele falou sobre os perigos da competição e do preço que se paga quando não se pode ser regular no desempenho:

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– A Série B é uma competição que não se pode deixar o ritmo cair em momento algum. Todos os jogos tem uma característica parecida, de muita luta e entrega das equipes. O segredo para se ter sucesso nela é ter um grupo bom, como o nosso, e regularidade. Esses dois fatores contam bastante durante as trinta e oito rodadas.

Para Baggio, o duelo com o Londrina nesta sexta-feira (3) no Estádio do Café será muito difícil para o Brasil tanto pelo ânimo do adversário que venceu na estreia como as peças ofensivas da equipe paranaense:

– O Londrina vem de uma vitória fora de casa diante do CRB e está motivado para o confronto com a nossa equipe. Não é fácil enfrentá-los na casa deles. Eles têm jogadores que passam por um ótimo momento, como Dagoberto, Alisson. O ataque deles é perigoso. Temos que ter o máximo de atenção para pontuarmos fora de casa.

Apesar da consideração de Douglas Baggio, Dagoberto sentiu uma lesão muscular e está fora do embate.

With Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina out of form, India’s middle order is under pressure with the series going into the decider in Kanpur on Wednesday

The Preview by Alagappan Muthu26-Nov-2013Match factsWednesday, November 27, 2013
Start time 0900 local (0330 GMT)India’s top-order has been masking the inadequacies of those coming after them•BCCIBig PictureIt is India’s turn to entertain reservations about their batting as they prepare for the series decider tomorrow in Kanpur. The frailties of having an out-of-form Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, who seems uncertain about his role in the batting line-up, and Ravindra Jadeja, who looks more a bowler than batsman, were clinically exposed in the second ODI. All three left-handers were stymied as West Indies were smart with their resources, feeding Yuvraj a diet of spin, something he does not enjoy when new at the crease.Although West Indies’ victory in Visakhapatnam looked like a bonus, their batsmen will have received a boost. Dwayne Bravo’s men now know they can score more than the Indians in their backyard, despite assistance from shoddy fielding and dew. The visitors must redress the failures of some of their senior batsmen though. Marlon Samuels, in particular, has had a lean year, managing only one score above fifty, and Dwayne Bravo has appeared confused about mixing attack and defence at No. 6.The match is a day game, a rarity in India, on what is expected to be a sunny day, fitting weather for Green Park’s return to international cricket after a four-year hiatus. However, there is a possibility that the teams will have to contend with overnight dew.Form guideIndia LWWWL (last five completed games, most recent first)
West Indies WLLLTIn the spotlightAccuracy with the ball and energy in the field has put Ravindra Jadeja in the good books of India’s captain and selectors, but with bat, his threat level drops significantly. Though his place in the XI is quite safe, Jadeja needs to rise to the responsibility of finishing an innings.As unpredictable as West Indies’ batting has been, their bowling has looked quite potent. So much so that Sunil Narine and Ravi Rampaul gagged India in the batting Powerplay in the second ODI. Those 15 runs and two wickets in those overs tilted the balance in West Indies’ favour. Narine’s faith in his variations returned in the last match, which made his captain employ a second slip in the 45th over.Team newsIndia (probable) 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Suresh Raina, 5 Yuvraj Singh, 6 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Mohit Sharma, 11 Mohammed ShamiWest Indies (probable) 1 Kieran Powell, 2 Johnson Charles (wk), 3 Darren Bravo, 4 Marlon Samuels, 5 Lendl Simmons, 6 Dwayne Bravo (capt), 7 Darren Sammy, 8 Ravi Rampaul 9 Jason Holder 10 Sunil Narine, 11 Veerasammy PermaulPitch and conditionsExpectations of bat dominating ball should be reined in as a score over 260 was reached only once in Kanpur. The seamers could have an enjoyable first hour, too, given the early morning start.Stats and trivia India have lost only three out of 11 ODIs played in Kanpur. They lost to West Indies in 1994 Lendl Simmons averages 40.50 in eight matches this year, a far cry from his 8.66 from six matches in 2012Quotes”Once he gets a few runs, you’ll see a different Yuvraj Singh.”

“Four, five batters getting good starts and putting the team in a position of strength to win games, I will take that any day.”

The Supreme Court has issued notices to the BCCI, Srinivasan, India Cements and Rajasthan Royals on an appeal challenging the Bombay High Court order for not appointing a fresh committee to probe the alleged corruption in the IPL

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Aug-2013The Supreme Court of India has issued notices to the BCCI, N Srinivasan, his company India Cements – which owns IPL team Chennai Super Kings – and Rajasthan Royals on an appeal challenging the Bombay High Court order from a month ago for not appointing a fresh committee to probe the alleged corruption in the IPL.The Bombay High Court had ruled that the BCCI’s probe panel which investigated allegations of corruption in the IPL was constituted illegally. The appeal against that ruling, lodged by the Cricket Association of Bihar (CAB), was on the grounds that the high court did not appoint a new committee to investigate the matter afresh.A bench, headed by Justice AK Patnaik, agreed to hear the CAB appeal, and clubbed it with the appeal filed by the BCCI that had challenged the high-court judgement on different grounds – the Indian board maintained that the two-member probe panel was legal. The BCCI was represented by C Aryama Sundaram, while the CAB case was argued by eminent lawyer Harish Salve.The parties issued notices have until September 11 to reply to the Supreme Court, when the cross appeals are scheduled to be heard by the apex court.The Supreme Court had earlier refused to grant an interim stay on the high-court verdict, denting the efforts of Srinivasan to return as BCCI chief.Srinivasan had stepped aside from discharging his duties as BCCI president in the light of the spot-fixing and betting scandal which allegedly involved his son-in-law and Chennai Super Kings top official Gurunath Meiyappan.The high-court order had come on July 30, just two days after the panel, comprising two former judges of the Madras High Court Justices T Jayarama Chouta and R Balasubramanian, submitted its report that gave a clean chit Meiyappan, India Cements, Royals’ holding company Jaipur IPL Pvt Ltd and their co-owner Raj Kundra.

سقط منتخب مصر الأولى بقيادة البرازيلي روجيرو ميكالي في فخ التعادل بهدف لمثله أمام منتخب غانا في مباراة ودية لعبت مساء اليوم الخميس على ستاد الإسكندرية.

تقدم منتخب غانا من ركلة جزاء في الدقيقة 11 عن طريق دانييل أفري صوبها على يمين حارس الفراعنة حمزة علاء.

وتحصل منتخب مصر على ركلة جزاء في الدقيقة 21 صوبها ابراهيم عادل على يمين حارس غانا الذي تصدى لها.

وتمكن ابراهيم عادل من تعويض ركلة الجزاء المهدرة بتسجيل هدف التعادل لمنتخب مصر الأولمبي في الدقيقة 39 مستغلا كرة مقطوعة من أحمد حسن كوكا ثم وصلت إلى محمود صابر ومنه إلى قطة الذي مررها لابراهيم عادل ليصوبها قوية على يمين الحارس.

اقرأ أيضا..منهم صلاح والشناوي.. 6 لاعبين يغادرون معسكر منتخب مصر

وأشهر الحكم بطاقة حمراء في الدقيقة 44 للاعب غانا زوبايرو إبراهيم بعدما تدخل بقوة على أحمد عاطف قطة لاعب منتخب مصر لينتهي الشوط الأول بالتعادل بهدف لهدف.

وفي شوط اللقاء الثاني أهدر منتخب مصر العديد من الفرص السهلة وسط تراجع دفاعي غاني للبحث عن التعادل وهو ما حدث بالفعل لينتهي اللقاء بالتعادل بهدف لهدف.

ويتحضر منتخب مصر الأولمبي للسفر للمغرب للمشاركة في كأس أمم إفريقيا خلال الفترة من 24 يونيو حتى 8 يوليو المقبل، والمؤهلة لأولمبياد باريس 2024.

ويتواجد منتخب مصر في المجموعة الثانية بجانب مالي والجابون والنيجر.  أهداف منتخب مصر وغانا 

Not many sides win a Twenty20 game from 83 for 6 in the first innings. Not many sides have Kieron Pollard, who once again showed how much damage he can cause

The Report by Abhishek Purohit06-Apr-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsKieron Pollard rebuilt the innings with the bat, and then took a game-clinching catch in the final over•BCCINot many sides win a Twenty20 game from 83 for 6 in the first innings. Not many sides have Kieron Pollard, who once again showed how much damage he can cause if he gets some time in the middle. On a pitch where both line-ups crumbled, barring both No. 6 batsmen, Pollard was the difference, although MS Dhoni almost stole the match from Mumbai Indians’ grasp with an ever more outrageous counter-attack. Fittingly, with Chennai Super Kings needing 12 off six, Pollard intercepted what looked set to be another Dhoni six on the deep midwicket boundary, sealing the game for his side with an acrobatic catch.Pollard had breathed life into a stalled Mumbai Indians innings, which had gone nowhere after Sachin Tendulkar had fallen leg-before to Dirk Nannes in the opening over for a golden duck. Ricky Ponting and Rohit Sharma soon followed Tendulkar. Although Dinesh Karthik looked in fine touch, when he departed for 37, Mumbai Indians were 59 for 4 in the ninth over and the Super Kings seamers were on top.Pollard batted quite sensibly, willing to go without scoring for several deliveries, knowing that when he wanted, he could always collect six with his power and reach. Half of the 38 deliveries he faced were dots, but he also biffed five sixes. Even when he went for the big strikes, he wasn’t taking risk. He would just lean forward to length or full deliveries and lift them over long-on.From 83 for 6, to add 65 in eight overs, with Harbhajan Singh for company, was quite an achievement. Harbhajan’s contribution, a run a ball 21, was crucial. Carefree swiping was put away and the strike was turned over. When it wasn’t, to Pollard’s disappointment in the final over, Harbhajan himself found the boundary. Pollard cracked Dwayne Bravo’s final ball of the innings over long-on to ensure there would at least be a contest in the game.There almost wasn’t one, though, as the Super Kings batsmen played a series of poor shots to leave their side gasping at 66 for 5. M Vijay walked too far across to be bowled, Michael Hussey missed a slog to be bowled, Bravo drove loosely, and S Badrinath went too far back when he should have been forward.Dhoni walked in, and the match started to turn. An upper cut appeared, a whiplash drive, a calm pull. Soon the long-on and deep midwicket boundary was being peppered with monster sixes, even as batsmen kept arriving and departing at the other end. Pollard took the most punishment, five of Dhoni’s eight boundaries coming off him.Forty needed off 18. Dhoni lashed 17 off a Pollard over. 23 needed off 12. Dhoni found the stands at deep midwicket again, this time off Mitchell Johnson, to zoom to 50 off 24. Both Pollard and Johnson sprayed a couple of wides each, such was the effect Dhoni’s assault had.First ball of Munaf Patel’s final over, Dhoni went for six more, targetting deep midwicket again, but this time, the towering figure of Pollard stood in the way, and made one final, decisive impact.