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The West Indies Cricket Board has lost its case with telecommunications company Digicel in London’s High Court and has been forced to withdraw its sanction for the Stanford 20/20 for 20 match on November 1.On the face of it, the decision makes it possible that the game could be off or, if it does proceed, that the Stanford Superstars side will be greatly weakened.But it is believed there are behind-the-scenes negotiations taking place between Digicel and the Stanford organisers which, if successful, will free the way for the match to go ahead with a full-strength Stanford side. It may mean the team’s shirts have Digicel branding and other commercial rights are assigned to the company.The unquestioned losers are the WICB. Not only did the judgement go against it, it also faces having to pay costs running into hundreds of thousands of dollars, and will also forfeit the US$3.5 million it stood to gain from a share of the US$20 million booty put up by Allen Stanford.Digicel insiders say the company was angry that it found out about the deal with Stanford through the media and that more would be made public when the full results of the arbitration were announced.The WICB entered into a contract with Stanford to make all its players available for the event, but it cannot now do so unless an agreement is reached between Digicel and Stanford.Digicel’s case against the board was that if the Stanford match was officially recognised then, as official sponsor to the WICB, it had branding and other commercial rights associated with that deal. The court ruled that the WICB had to remove its sanction for the game as not doing so would put it in breach of contract with Digicel. As this was an arbitration, there is no recourse for the WICB to appeal.What also has to be confirmed is the position of the England board and how appealing the match will be if it was to be against a second-string side, even if it made the possibility of winning the multi-million dollar jackpot more likely.Cricinfo has also confirmed that Tony Deyal, who until July was the board’s corporate secretary, gave evidence for Digicel against his former employers.

As Pakistan cricket undergoes its umpteenth revamp and a new PCB chairman withnew ideas and possibly personnel settles in, Geoff Lawson, Pakistan’scoach, remains indifferent to the criticism directed at him after anuncertain year in charge.Lawson’s tenure has been a difficult one; a lack of cricket coupled withsome poor on-field performances has made him an easy target. Even IjazButt, the newly-installed chairman, has questioned his contribution. But in an interview with Cricinfo just after the four-nationTwenty20 tournament in Canada, Lawson was in a bullish mood about his stint and the future for Pakistan.”The only criticism I take any notice of is the criticism within my groupand my own criticism,” he said. “I’m very harsh on myself about what weneed to do and I certainly don’t take any notice of the media.”Lawson has had a spiky relationship with the Pakistan media, which reachedits lowest ebb during the Asia Cup, when the media walked out of his press conference in Karachi. Lawson insisted, however, that the only support he needed was from the players and the board.”I pick up the paper and laugh. You can’t take any notice of it, you justhave to ignore it. It’s one of the big issues I’ve brought up with theplayers, I’ve said ‘look, you can’t let what people say in the press,particularly the Pakistani press, affect how you play the game. You havesupport from the coaching staff and from the board itself, so play thegame’ … My life is not affected by what the media say.”In a wide-ranging, typically honest chat, Lawson also spoke about theAustralian attitude he was trying to instil into the Pakistan side and thechanges that need to be made to improve the game in the country.”One of the main reasons I was employed by the PCB was to bring that sortof attitude to the Pakistan team,” Lawson said. “I’ve played the gamehard, I’ve played to win and I’ve played an aggressive style of cricket.When you have talented players you can do that. The job now is to get overall the hurdles that are placed in your way, to transfer that to theteam.”When asked about the nature of the hurdles, Lawson pointed to the lack offacilities in some areas of the country. “Well, the fact that there aren’tgood enough gyms in all the outlying regions. All the players can’t followa high-level fitness program. That’s a basic thing. It’s great in Lahore,Karachi and Rawalpindi, but not everywhere. And if you live in an outlyingregion, or even Quetta or rural Sind or Punjab you don’t have all thataccess. Within Australia or England, you just take it for granted that theplayers will be able to train at a high level. That’s a fairly significanthurdle, but the PCB are trying to work on those sorts of things.”Click here for the full interview.

Ashwell Prince’s unbeaten 72 helped guide the Warriors to a fighting draw against the his former team Cape Cobras at Paarl. Prince battled for more than four-and-a-half hours on the final day after his team appeared to be slipping to defeat at 87 for 5 after being set 268. However, Prince couldn’t do it alone and found stubborn support from Justin Kreusch, who used up 75 balls for his 18, and latterly Wayne Parnell with a 48-ball 11 to help see out the match. Claude Henderson and Charl Langeveldt were shaping as the match-winners with three wickets each, but struggled to breakthrough in the final session. Andrew Puttick’s first-day 105 set up the Cobras’ strong position as they ground their way to 340 in 135 overs. Francois Plaatjies then claimed a career-best 4 for 59 to earn the Cobras a lead of 77. They batted slightly more positively in their second innings, but didn’t declare until into the final morning. If that time had been given to the bowlers, the outcome could have been different.A slow contest between the Dolphins and the Eagles, also hit by poor weather, briefly came to life on the final day at Durban but still ended in the draw that appeared likely from the monent the Eagles scored at 2.5 runs-per-over in their first innings. During an opening session on the last morning, the Dolphins were bowled out for 275, a deficit of 145. However, their new-ball attack of Quinton Friend and Ugasen Govender reduced the Eagles to 6 for 4. The visitors then declared at 26 for 5, setting the Dolphins 172 in 35 overs. With bad light around, the chase wasn’t seriously attempted, but it at least enlivened the closing stages. Boeta Dippenaar (106) and Ryan Bailey (150) dominated the opening two days with a fourth-wicket stand of 217. “The pitch was very difficult on the first day,” Corrie van Zyl, Eagles coach, told the . “It was slow, with tennis ball bounce, and the ball moved around a lot. Bailey and Dippenaar did very well, in difficult circumstances, to bat us into a position where we could try to win the game. It was only the bad weather that prevented that from happening.”Faf du Plessis’s career-best 176 was the highlight of a weather-interrupted clash between the Titans and the Lions at Centurion Park. du Plessis cracked 27 fours and two sixes in his 243-ball innings after the Titans wobbled on 71 for 4. He added 156 with Pierre Joubert (61) before being caught at long off, but the runs continued to flow as Paul Harris hit 53. However, regular stoppages for bad light cut into the time available for the Titans to make the most of their strong batting performance. But at 161 for 5 there was an opening for the home side before Werner Coetsee struck an unbeaten 116 to erase any chance of the follow on. During a shortened final day Coetsee added an unbroken 126 for the seventh wicket with Matthew Harris.Player of the week – Faf du Plessis
Faf du Plessis showed sparks of his talent during the English season with Lancashire, but his 176 against the Lions confirmed the huge potential that has secured him a three-year deal in county cricket. He is currently maintaining his career in both England and South Africa, playing for Lancashire as a Kolpak, and he has yet to decide which country he wants to try and have an international future with. The player-drain from South Africa is a major issue, and they won’t want to lose someone of du Plessis’s quality.

It’s that time of the season when favourites emerge for the top and the drop. Going into the fourth round, there are teams who can book their places in the knockouts with a big win, and there are some who can kickstart their journey to the Plate League if they fail to score points. A look at the Super League matches starting Sunday:

Group A

Gujarat v Delhi in Valsad
Delhi, with five points from three matches, will know the time has come for them to pick their game up drastically if they are to harbour thoughts of defending their title. And they don’t have pushovers waiting for them. Gujarat have had a good start to the season, their first after their promotion to the Super League. They have beaten Saurashtra outright, lost to Mumbai, and fallen short by a session in their drive for an outright win against Hyderabad. If they can hold their own against Delhi, they will stay close to the top three.Hyderabad v Rajasthan in Hyderabad
VVS Laxman adds gloss to this otherwise low-key affair. Hyderabad are fifth in Group A, and Rajasthan are at the bottom with only one point to their credit. Hyderabad have done well to register a first-innings lead against Delhi, and especially by hanging on for one point against Gujarat by batting out 106 overs in their second innings. A win here could take them from the middle of the order towards the top three.Orissa v Punjab in Bhubaneshwar
This match could have similar implications as the Hyderabad-Rajasthan match. Punjab are tied with Hyderabad with seven points, and Orissa are one place from the bottom, with four points. With the match, a new stadium makes debut – the East Coast Railway Sports Association Stadium. This will also be the first Ranji match in Bhubaneshwar, Orissa’s capital.Saurashtra v Mumbai in Rajkot
Mumbai, the solid leaders in Group A and so far the best team in the whole Super League, take a trip down to the run capital of India. If India scored 387 in an ODI against England, Cheteshwar Pujara scored a triple by himself. Nine centuries have been scored in Rajkot so far, for the fall of 68 wickets, in three matches. It hasn’t all been boring – two of the matches have been innings victories. This is also a crucial match between the No. 1 and No. 2 sides in the Group A, with five points separating them.

Group B

Railways v Andhra in Delhi
Railways haven’t set the Ranji Trophy on fire in their return to the Plate League, but they still have four points and a game in hand after three rounds. Although they are way behind the leaders, Tamil Nadu, they are only three and two points behind the No. 2 and No. 3 teams – Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh, who have yet to make a pit stop. Andhra, though, have been reduced to fighting relegation from now on, with two points from three games.Uttar Pradesh v Maharashtra in Kanpur
RP Singh, who has been dropped from the Indian ODI side, will lift a fledgling UP side. Mohammad Kaif, the batting mainstay who missed their last game, will be back too. UP are waiting on Praveen Kumar’s fitness, and will know tomorrow morning. All put together, they would want nothing less than an outright win against an inexperienced Maharashtra side. Their capitulation to Tamil Nadu, in the absence of Kaif and Praveen, has meant they are placed at No. 3 in the table, and need a shot in the arm. Maharashtra, who only two points ahead of the bottom-placed Andhra, will want to maintain some space.

As Ricky Ponting’s toughest year in charge of the Australian team draws to a close he is facing one of the Test matches that could define his captaincy. A loss to South Africa in Melbourne would concede the series and cap off a disappointing year that began with a narrow but controversial series win against India at home and continued with a 2-0 loss in India.”Yeah probably,” Ponting said when asked if 2008 had been his hardest year. “Whenever the team doesn’t have the success that we all want to have then as a captain your responsibility is to cop whatever criticism comes your way.”The buck stops with me as far as our performance is concerned. I think we’ve all been a little bit disappointed with the way some of the results have gone. I think we all knew at the start of this year that we had some very tough cricket ahead of us.”Ponting is leading the side through a period of uncertainty the likes of which the country has rarely seen since Allan Border’s reign. Ponting was the first Australian leader to give up the Ashes since Border’s men regained the prize in 1989; he is desperate to avoid being the captain to lose Australia’s first series at home since Border’s side went down to West Indies in 1992-93.After South Africa’s brilliant win in Perth, Australia were left in the unfamiliar situation of being 1-0 in a three-Test series. It is a position they have never recovered from for a series win in their 120 years of Test cricket. For such a comeback to occur this time, Ponting needs his senior men to lead the way.Matthew Hayden and Brett Lee have come under fire during the week as both men have struggled to find their trademark spark and Ponting is desperate for the pair to lift themselves on the biggest stage. He also needs stronger contributions from the rest of the batting line-up. Much was made of the failure of Australia’s bowlers, Mitchell Johnson aside, in Perth but it was the inability of the batsmen to build an impregnable lead that frustrated Ponting as much as anything.In the first innings they wobbled to 3 for 15; in the second they teetered to 7 for 162. On a pitch where South Africa chased down 414 with six wickets in hand it was not a good enough effort. Ponting was at least happy that the batting problems did not seem to stem from technical failures or lack of ability.”The top-order batting in both innings left a little bit to be desired so that’s one area that we all want to tighten up,” Ponting said. “For us as a batting group there’s some positives that we can take out of that, knowing that we all did get off to some good starts and probably mentally more than anything is where we let ourselves down. That’s to be changed this week.”The experienced batting line-up is even more important in a side whose attack is relatively young. Peter Siddle has kept his place and will play his first Test at his home ground the MCG, despite taking only one wicket in Perth, while Nathan Hauritz has been added for his second Test of the summer.The inexperienced men will be under intense pressure at the MCG, where the crowds are massive and vocal. The significance of the Test was not lost on Ponting; the next five days could either end Australia’s dominance at home or prove their fighting qualities have not deserted them.”There’s no doubt that this is a big one and generally the Australian team under adversity or when a big moment comes up or a big game comes up, we generally bring out our best performance,” Ponting said. “You can argue last week that it probably wasn’t our best performance in a big game and maybe it wasn’t … now it’s about making sure that everything does work out for us this week.”

The England captaincy baton has passed from one South African-born cricketer to another with Andrew Strauss named as Kevin Pietersen’s replacement for the tour of West Indies. That, however, is where the similarities end.Strauss was the obvious candidate for the ECB in their moment of crisis, but it still marks a remarkable turnaround for someone who, even as recently as the India Test series, was under pressure for his place. However, back-to-back centuries in Chennai have secured his long-term future at the top of England’s order. England will now crave some of that stability in his leadership.Many feel it is an honour that should have already come Strauss’s way on a permanent basis, two-and-a-half years ago, after he impressed during a locum spell in 2006 as a stand-in for Michael Vaughan and Andrew Flintoff. He secured a 2-0 series win against Pakistan, but was then overlooked to lead the Ashes tour in favour of Flintoff.Although this appointment is only for the four Tests against West Indies which start on February 4 in Jamaica, it is hard to see beyond Strauss for the full-time post.”He led the England team with distinction in 2006 when Michael Vaughan was injured,” was Hugh Morris’s brief comment on Strauss’s promotion.It is believed Strauss has been given assurances that he is not a stop-gap captain, although discussions are ongoing as to whether his role will include limited-overs cricket. At the time of appointing Pietersen as captain last August, Geoff Miller, the national selector, made it clear the ECB intended to have one captain for both formats.Strauss, however, hasn’t been part of the one-day set-up since the 2007 World Cup, but has always harboured ambitions to return to the limited-overs side. With the ICC World Twenty20 coming up in June and a 50-over World Cup two years away, England’s one-day strategy is again in turmoil.For now, though, Strauss has two weeks to get his mind right before the squad departs for West Indies on January 21. Suddenly, he has the weight of a nation on his shoulders.

ScorecardSouth Africa Under-19s carried their momentum from winning the one-day series into the opening Twenty20 match against England Under-19s with a comfortable six-wicket win in Cape Town.Andrea Agathagelou led South Africa’s chase after the bowlers had done an impressive job to restrict England to 132 for 7. He cracked six fours and two sixes in his 35-ball innings, adding 53 in five overs with Rilee Rossouw.By the time Azeem Rafiq made two quick breakthroughs, having both Agathagelou and Jonathan Vandiar stumped, the home side were well on their way. Obus Pienaar capped off a well-paced chase with four boundaries in his unbeaten 21.England’s innings fell away badly from a promising position after Sam Northeast and Josh Cobb carried them to 73 for 1 in the ninth over. The remaining 11 overs of the innings produced just 59 runs as the England batsmen struggled to force the pace, but they have a chance to level the series on Thursday.

ECB chairman Giles Clarke’s assertion two days ago that the board “carried out due diligence prior to making their long-term agreement with Stanford” will come under renewed scrutiny after a former associate of the billionaire accused it of “naivety”.John Fuller, an Antiguan lawyer who worked with Stanford, told the BBC that anyone wanting to look into his former associate’s background “wouldn’t have to dig very far to raise concerns”.”His bank were offering interest rates which were much higher than anyone else. He didn’t have any apparent income [in Antigua] other than a small amount of money from two restaurants he has and a health spa. He was spending a lot of money on land, private jets and cricket. But the income was not visible. It gave rise to concerns among many of us here.”It would have been very, very easy [to raise concerns]. All you would have needed to do is talk to a banker here, or any of the leading accounting firms or law firms who don’t represent him. You would have come to the conclusion, ‘I wonder if we should be associated with this person’?”In another interview with the BBC, international fraud expert Jeffrey Robinson claimed that suspicions about Stanford could be traced back to the mid 1990s. “I know, personally, because I have discussed it with them, a number of law enforcement agencies in the United States, plus a number of prosecutors who have been looking at Mr Stanford for the past 15 years,” he said.Fuller and Robinson’s remarks will fuel increasing pressure on Clarke and ECB chief executive David Collier. The pair have been almost universally condemned in the media, but they appear to retain the support of the majority of the counties.

Scorecard and ball by ball details
How they were out

Phillip Hughes and Simon Katich registered centuries as contrasting as their cricketing resumes to provide Australia with the kind of start not seen since the halcyon days of Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer. But two late strikes from Paul Harris spared some South African blushes, reducing Australia to an authoritative, if not entirely overbearing, 303 for 4 at stumps on the first day.The 20-year-old Hughes combined with the vastly experienced Simon Katich (108) for a 184-run partnership – the highest first-innings opening stand by an Australian duo since 2005 – and in so doing announced himself a legitimate international force. Just nine days removed from a fourth-ball duck in his maiden Test innings, the rookie left-hander produced a powerful, nerveless 115 highlighted by a pair of towering sixes that guided him through the 90s and into Australian cricketing folklore. Not since Doug Walters in 1965-66 has an Australian batsman notched a Test ton at such a tender age.The Australians could not have hoped for a brighter start from their fledgling opening combination, but their bid to close out the series in Durban was undermined by the finger-spin of Harris. His dismissals of Ricky Ponting (9) driving on the up and Michael Clarke (3) playing down the wrong line tempered Australia’s once-rampant run-rate and drew the South Africans back into the contest. Harris’ effectiveness on day one should unnerve Australia’s selectors, who again overlooked the specialist spin of Bryce McGain in preference of two allrounders in Andrew McDonald and Marcus North.But those concerns are for another day. For Friday will be remembered as one of triumph for the Australians who, in just two Tests, have gone far to dispursing the vultures of doubt that circled after Matthew Hayden’s retirement in January.Targetted by South Africa coach Mickey Arthur in the press during the week over his supposed short-comings against short bowling, Hughes seldom looked troubled during his 151 ball stay at the crease, taking full advantage of a low Kingsmead pitch and inoffensive South African bowling. At one stage, Hughes struck four consecutive boundaries against Morne Morkel which, combined with a no-ball and four byes from an errant bouncer, left the out-of-sorts paceman with the unflattering return of 21 runs from four legal deliveries. Whatever pressure Dale Steyn and Makhaya Ntini built in their opening spell had vanished. The Australians were away.

Curiously, after all the talk of short-pitched bowling, the South Africans maintained a full, straight line to Hughes. He duly responded by driving strongly down the ground, and clipping crisply off his pads. Hughes raised his second consecutive Test half-century with an extravagant square drive off Jacques Kallis that raced to the boundary, then duplicated the stroke (and the four) the very next ball. But the highlight of the innings was undoubtedly the consecutive sixes swatted over the head of Harris to raise his first Test ton – a feat he celebrated with an exuberant leap in the air and pump of the fist.Hughes was granted a life by Kallis at a wide first slip, but the allrounder had his revenge one run later when he coaxed Hughes into a slash outside his off stump that was snaffled by a diving Neil McKenzie in the gully. Katich also received a reprieve when turfed by Hashim Amla at midwicket off the bowling of Steyn, and the senior opener appeared intent on punishing the South Africans for their error in advancing to an unbeaten 84 at the tea break.Katich’s watchful approach was rewarded in the final session with a seventh Test century, and fifth since his recall to the Test side last May. The revitalised left-hander has scored 1,250 runs in those 14 Tests – better than half his career tally – at the robust average of 54.34 and, with Hughes, provided the team with hope that a new, dominant opening partnership has been uncovered.The South Africans will be bitterly disappointed with the opening two sessions. Steyn and Ntini threatened sparingly – the former swinging into the pads of the left-handers, the latter angling across – and Morkel proved underwhelming in the extreme. Arthur’s mantra of winning the first hour of a Test match was brutally dispatched by the swinging blade of Hughes, and the pair of dropped catches in the second session will do little to improve the coach’s mood.The period leading up to tea was notable for the first Hot Spot referral – the umpires found in favour of the batsman – and the demise of Ponting. Clarke’s fall shortly after temporarily raised South African hopes of a late day fightback, but North and Michael Hussey weathered a testing period from Steyn and Ntini with the second new ball to carry their bats through to stumps.

Match facts

April 18, 2009
Start time 12.30pm (10.30GMT)

Big Picture

The formidable Andrew Flintoff makes Chennai stronger•Getty Images

On last year’s form, Chennai Super Kings will be favoured to make a winning start to their IPL campaign on Saturday, but Mumbai Indians have a couple of key factors going in their favour which could well make all the difference. Sachin Tendulkar, who missed the first part of the tournament last year, is fit and available from the start this time. Shaun Pollock will be missed with the ball, but his presence as mentor and Jonty Rhodes’ as fielding coach could be key, especially since both will be familiar with South African conditions.The big addition in the Chennai ranks is Andrew Flintoff, who will be available for the first part of the tournament. His bowling, especially, could be hugely vital for a team which struggled occasionally in that area last year. MS Dhoni has gained plenty more leadership experience since last June, and he’ll also have the vast tactical knowledge of Stephen Fleming, the coach, to tap into.Unlike some of the other line-ups, both sides have been pretty low-key so far, keeping the frills out and concentrating on the cricket. Chennai arrived early in South Africa to acclimatise to the conditions, while Mumbai have been in the news mainly for the announcement of their South African coaches. For a tournament which has been in the news for so many non-cricketing reasons, it can’t be a bad thing that it kicks off with teams high on talent but low on controversy.

Player form guide

Chennai: Suresh Raina sparkled in New Zealand, scoring an unbeaten 61 in a Twenty20 game and consistently getting the runs in the ODIs too. Dhoni has been consistent too, while Flintoff is coming off a superb matchwinning five-for in the last ODI against West Indies.Mumbai: Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh were outstanding with the ball in New Zealand, while Tendulkar was prolific in the Tests and the ODIs. JP Duminy has had a quiet series against Australia, though he managed quick cameos in the third and fourth ODIs.

In from the cold

Matthew Hayden last played an international game in early January this year, and it remains to be seen if he can replicate the form he showed for Chennai last year, when he hammered 189 runs at an average of 63 and a strike rate of 144.

Watch out for

Harbhajan v Murali: Harbhajan had an excellent tour of New Zealand, and he loves to bowl in the short formats. Muralitharan didn’t do the damage he was expected to in the last IPL, and this is an opportunity to make amends.Flintoff v Mumbai openers: It remains to be seen if Flintoff gets the new ball, but the fans could be in for a treat if he gets an opportunity to bowl at two of the most prolific ODI batsmen, Tendulkar and Jayasuriya.

Friendly fire

MS Dhoni v Sachin Tendulkar: They are easily the two biggest names in Indian cricket, but come Saturday, and they will walk out for the toss captaining rival teams to kick off a high-profile tournament. Knowing the respect they have for each other, though, there’s little chance of anything more unsavoury than the odd friendly banter.

Team news

Chennai need to decide on the opening partner for Hayden. The contenders are Parthiv Patel, Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan and M Vijay. The first two played last year, but neither was entirely convincing. The other issue is deciding on their four foreign players. Matthew Hayden, Andrew Flintoff and Albie Morkel are near certainties, but Muralitharan might pip home boy Makhaya Ntini for the fourth spot.Chennai Super Kings (probable) 1 Matthew Hayden, 2 Parthiv Patel, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 MS Dhoni (capt/wk), 5 S Badrinath, 6 Andrew Flintoff, 7 Albie Morkel, 8 L Balaji, 9 Joginder Sharma, 10 Manpreet Gony, 11 Muttiah Muralitharan.Mumbai’s batting appears fairly well settled, but at least one bowling spot is up for grabs. With Sanath Jayasuriya, Duminy and Dwayne Bravo almost sure to play, the fourth foreigner’s spot will probably be a tussle among Dilhara Fernando, Lasith Malinga and Kyle Mills. Malinga could add firepower to the attack, but his inconsistency might tilt the scales in favour of Mills.Mumbai Indians (probable) 1 Sanath Jayasuriya, 2 Sachin Tendulkar, 3 Shikhar Dhawan, 4 JP Duminy, 5 Dwayne Bravo, 6 Abhishek Nayar, 7 Yogesh Takawale (wk), 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Dhawal Kulkarni, 10 Zaheer Khan, 11 Kyle Mills.For Morkel, Duminy and perhaps Ntini, it’ll also mean playing the IPL opener within hours of finishing the day-night ODI against Australia in Johannesburg.

Head-to-head record

The two teams split the two games they played in 2008, with each team winning at home: Chennai squeaked through by six runs at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, but Mumbai took revenge in convincing fashion, winning by nine wickets at the Wankhede Stadium.

Quotes

“Whatever has happened is over and done with. We all make mistakes learn from them. I’ve moved on as a cricketer and I’m looking forward to doing well for the IPL for Mumbai Indians. Keeping my fingers crossed that I perform the way I have been.”
“The expectations have definitely increased this time after we finished runners-up last time. If you compare us to the other teams, I think our team is well-balanced and definitely one of the favourites to win the tournament.”