Swann blasts 'cheat' Perera over catching row

England off spinner Graeme Swann has criticized Sri Lankan batsman Dilruwan Perera for refusing to walk after being caught at slip off James Anderson, and credited captain Andrew Strauss for restoring calm among the players.

Swann accused Perera of trying to cheat after knowing he was out.

"It was very difficult to take, as it was so blatantly out. What annoyed us was the batsman stood there, knowing 100 per cent he was out. He chose to cheat in my view," The Sun quoted Swann, as saying.

"I'm glad Straussy was there, because I'm sure it would have gone further had we not had someone with a bit of onus to calm things down," he said.

England had won the warm up game against Sri Lanka Board eleven with relative ease, as Alastair Cook, James Anderson and Monty Panesar gave encouraging performances.

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'Ruthless' Smith in no mood to ease up on Kiwi bowlers

South Africa captain Graeme Smith has warned New Zealand bowlers that he intends to carry forward his good form in the final Test match at Wellington, as the team's peak form hasn't been achieved yet.

Smith and his team were able to celebrate St Patrick's Day in style after savaging the Black Caps in the second Test to take a 1-0 lead with one match to play in the series.

The Proteas were out on the town after three days of play, following an inexorable bowling display, in which they dismissed the home side for 185 and 168, with the prolific Vernon Philander grabbing ten wickets in the match.

Smith, who hit an unbeaten 55 as the tourists hurried to their target of 101 in the 20th over, was in no mood to feel for the hosts who have a sole Twenty20 win to their name against the visitors this summer.

"It's been a tough summer but, if you are not successful in a home summer the pressure - with your own crowds and your own media - does feel a whole lot more than when you're away," The Age quoted Smith, as saying.

"In professional sport, you want to be as ruthless as possible. Wellington can be a tough venue for a touring team with the conditions you can face there, particularly the wind at the Basin," he said.

Smith said the team would like to conclude the series on a high, as it has been a tremendous tour for them.

"We would like to finish this tour strongly because it has been a terrific tour for us," he added.

But, Smith also cautioned the Kiwis that the best from them was yet to come, as the team is still improving.

"We've still got a lot of improving to do," he said.

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Windies have heart to beat Australia, says Narine

Right-arm slow bowler Sunil Narine believes the West Indies' success in finally ending their Australian jinx could pave the way for victory in the five-match series.

The 23-year-old was named man of the match for his four for 27 off eight overs as the West Indies beat Australia by five wickets on Sunday, a first win over their rivals since 2006.

"It feels really great to get my best figures in just my fifth match and bowl the team to a victory," said the Trinidad-born off-spinner.

"We needed this win after going 1-0 down in the first match on Friday. This will be a huge boost for the players in the team and everyone in the dressing room. This is the first West Indies win over Australia in a long time and it shows that we have it in us to win." 

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Windies end six-year losing streak to Australia

Big-hitting Kieron Pollard blasted a typically muscular 47 as West Indies clinched their first win in almost six years over Australia when they took the second one-dayer by five wickets on Sunday.

In a match reduced to 40 overs a side because of rain, Australia struggled to 154 for nine under cloudy conditions with West Indies reaching their Duckworth-Lewis target of 158 with 10 balls remaining.

Pollard top-scored with 47, an innings which featured four huge sixes, one of which, off spinner Xavier Doherty, cleared the Arnos Vale stands and ended on the runway of the neighbouring St Vincent airport.

Carlton Baugh had the honour of hitting the winning runs, another six off the hapless Doherty which flew over midwicket as the home side finished on 163 for five.

Dwyane Bravo also played a crucial role, making 30 in a fifth-wicket partnership of 64 with Pollard which swung the game the West Indies' way after they had lost opener Kieran Powell to a first ball lbw off Brett Lee.

"It's a good feeling, the team played much better today, the bowlers did well again and there was much more responsibility when chasing the runs," said West Indies captain Darren Sammy.

"It was a total team effort. All in all we were searching for a win and we are glad we got over the line. From the last game, when we batted, there was not much change; today we did what we had to do and I'm just happy we won one."

Australian captain Shane Watson admitted that his batsmen had come up short. "In the end we were 20-30 runs short. Unfortunately we weren't able to get big enough partnerships through the start or middle," said Watson.

"Once the sun got on the wicket it seemed to settle a little more but that's the great challenge of playing in the West Indies and we have to adapt a little better. It's about getting the balance of the batting -- the wickets are a little different from home."

Australia won the first game at the same venue on Friday by 64 runs, their 15th win in their last 16 one-dayers against West Indies, a run stretching back to the 2006 Champions Trophy in India.

West Indies, who suffered an embarrassing middle order collapse on Friday when they lost six wickets for just seven runs, won the toss on Sunday and put Australia into bat.

David Hussey top-scored for the tourists with 37 off 62 balls, an innings which featured four boundaries before he fell to off-spinner Sunil Narine, who finished with figures of 4-27 off eight overs. Narine was named man of the match.

The start of play was delayed by rain before more showers forced the players off for 90 minutes when Australia were 16-0 after five overs.

Australia then slipped to 46 for three in the 14th over with David Warner (13) and Peter Forrest (0) both dismissed by seamer Kemar Roach in the sixth over of the day.

Roach, desperate for a Test match call-up next month, finished with 2 for 23 off eight overs.

The next match in the series takes place at the same venue on Tuesday with the two concluding matches in St Lucia on Friday and Sunday. 

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Kohli destroys Pakistan in Asia Cup run-fest

Virat Kohli smashed a blistering 183 off 148 balls as India produced their highest ever run chase to beat Pakistan by six-wickets on Sunday and keep alive their hopes of reaching the Asia Cup final.

Chasing a daunting total of 330, India pulled off a thrilling victory with 13 balls to spare thanks to Kohli, who notched up his third one-day century in four matches.

Rohit Sharma (68) and Sachin Tendulkar (52) also chipped in as India surpassed their previous highest successful run chase of 326-8 against England in 2002.

Kolhi belted 22 boundaries and one six while Tendulkar and Sharma also clobbered the Pakistani bowlers, with each hitting five fours and a six.

Pakistan qualified for Thursday's final despite losing to India as they had earlier registered wins against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, earning a bonus point in the process.

India must now hope Sri Lanka, who have already been eliminated, beat Bangladesh in the final round robin match on Tuesday if they are to go through to the final.

India's Asia Cup campaign suffered a setback following their shock five-wicket defeat by Bangladesh on Friday, meaning that the hosts will go through to the final if they beat Sri Lanka as head-to-head results are taken into account before net run rate.

India's dazzling batting display on Sunday completely overshadowed the 224-run opening partnership by Pakistan's Nasir Jamshed (112) and Mohammad Hafeez (105).

The duo looked to have put the match out of India's reach as they could not be separated until the 36th over. Jamshed was the first to fall after he tried to hoist a Ravichandran Ashwin delivery over the boundary but instead found Irfan Pathan, who was fortunate not to drop the catch.

Hafeez was trapped lbw by pace bowler Ashok Dinda just three balls later but not before the duo had laid the foundations for Pakistan to post 329-6 from their 50 overs.

When opener Gautam Gambhir perished for a duck in the second ball of the Indian innings, it seemed as if Pakistan would be soon celebrating a quick victory.

Kohli had other ideas.

The 23-year-old shared a 133-run second-wicket partnership with Tendulkar and both players produced a flurry of boundaries to ensure India were on top of the required run rate.

Tendulkar, who completed an unprecedented 100 international centuries against Bangladesh on Friday, was foxed by a doosra off Sajeed Ajmal and was caught by Younus Khan at slip.

Kohli, dropped by wicketkeeper Umar Akmal on two, punished the Pakistan bowlers for the let off and added a further 172 runs with Sharma to put India firmly in control.

Kohli was finally dismissed in the 48th over after edging a Umar Gul delivery to Hafeez but by then India were 12 runs short of their target and they easily knocked off the remaining runs.

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Azhar Mahmood hoping to fire for Kings XI Punjab in IPL

Former Pakistan all-rounder Azhar Mahmood has he had been fortunate enough to enjoy a lot of success in twenty over cricket and he hopes that the trend continues in India.

"My aim is always to give my all and I will go to India looking to win my fourth Twenty20 title, after previous wins with Surrey, Auckland and Dhaka. I've been fortunate enough to enjoy a lot of success in twenty over cricket and I hope that it can continue in India," Pakpassion quoted Mahmood, as saying.

He was bought by Kings XI Punjab at the Indian Premier League players' auction in Bangalore, making him the first player of Pakistani origin to figure in the IPL since the first edition in 2008.

"I'm really excited at playing in the Indian Premier League, it should be a great adventure to play for Kings XI Punjab."

Mahmood spoke highly of the IPL and described it as "the biggest tournament in the world after international cricket".

Mahmood will be joined by Wasim Akram who is in the coaching staff of Kolkata Knight Riders andRameez Raja who will be part of the commentary team as the only Pakistanis taking part in the IPL, and added that the lack of Pakistani participation was a matter for the two cricket boards.

"My job is to play competitive cricket wherever it is available in the world. Yes I am going to India as an English qualified player, but let's make something absolutely clear here, I don't think the IPL organizers have any problems with Pakistanis, the problem seems to be with the Pakistan Cricket Board's contracted players. Look, Wasim Akram will be working at the IPL again this time, I am going too and everyone knows that I have previously played for Pakistan, so it's not a problem specifically with Pakistanis, rather an issue between the BCCI and PCB."

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Bangladesh win despite 100-ton Tendulkar

Dhaka: Sachin Tendulkar made history with his 100th international century but India failed to stop Bangladesh from registering an upset five-wicket win in the Asia Cup tournament in Dhaka on Friday.

Tendulkar, who now has 51 hundreds in Tests and 49 in one-day internationals, cracked one six and 12 fours in his 147-ball 114 to help his team post a challenging 289-5.

The memorable moment came in the 44th over when Tendulkar turned left-arm spinner Shakib Al Hasan to square-leg for a single to become the first batsman to score a century of centuries.

But Bangladesh batted remarkably well to achieve the stiff target with four balls to spare in the day-night match for only their third win over India in 24 one-dayers and keep alive their hopes of reaching the final.

Opener Tamim Iqbal (70) and Jahurul Islam (53) put on 113 for the second wicket before man-of-the-match Shakib (49) and Nasir Hossain (54) plundered 68 off just eight overs.

Bangladesh needed 46 runs in the last five overs with six wickets in hand, but skipper Mushfiqur Rahim (46 not out off 25 balls) eased the pressure by smashing three sixes.

Shakib hit two sixes and five fours in his 31-ball knock at a crucial stage.

Pakistan have two wins in as many matches, while India and Bangladesh have one victory each after two games. Sri Lanka have lost both of their matches.

The 100th-ton celebrations were subdued as Tendulkar removed his helmet, raised his bat and looked at the sky, before being congratulated by non-striker Suresh Raina and Bangladeshi fielders.

Tendulkar, who turns 39 next month, already holds four major batting records - most runs and centuries in both Tests and one-day internationals.

Timing and placement marked Tendulkar's knock. He put on 148 for the second wicket with Virat Kohli (66) and 86 for the third with Raina (51).

He was dismissed in the 47th over, caught behind while attempting to drive paceman Mashrafe Mortaza and returned to the pavilion to a standing ovation from 20,000 fans at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium.

Tendulkar was at his aggressive best at the start, fluently driving paceman Shafiul Islam through the covers and then hitting Mortaza for two boundaries. His next two scoring strokes were also fours.

Tendulkar did not spare the slow bowlers, hoisting Shakib over long-on for the first six of the match and then smashing the spinner for a four to complete his half-century.

He had kept his fans waiting for the milestone since cracking his 99th ton -- 111 against South Africa in the World Cup at Nagpur on March 12, 2011. 

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Doherty spell leads Australia to opening win

Australia spinner Xavier Doherty took four wickets to lead the visitors to a 64-run victory over the West Indies in the first one-day international of their five-match series in Kingstown, St Vincent on Friday.

It was a familiar story of failing with the bat while chasing a modest total for the Caribbean side as they kicked off the series, which also includes three tests, in disappointing fashion.

Australia were restricted to 204 in their allotted 50 overs with only opener Dave Warner, who struck 40 from 55 balls, and George Bailey's 48 on his one-day international debut able to master the tricky conditions for the visitors.

Dwayne Bravo was the most effective of the West Indies bowlers, picking up 3-58, while Kemar Roach's pace and Marlon Samuels' off-spin also helped pin down the tourists on a slow track.

West Indies made a decent start to taking on what was a very achievable target with Samuels (35) and Dwayne Bravo (32) getting amongst the runs but when the latter was bowled by Daniel Christian, the floodgates opened.

Six wickets fell for just seven runs and only a late cameo from skipper Darren Sammy (35) offered any kind of resistance at the Arnos Vale Ground.

Doherty will take the plaudits for his fine spell of slow left-arm bowling, coming back well after being hit for three sixes in his first over by Samuels, but the Australian bowlers were helped by some awful shot selection from the hosts.

"It was a great way to start the tour... we know that on this surface we had a decent enough score," Australian skipper Shane Watson told reporters.

"They had a period with (Dwayne) Bravo and Samuels going after us but we had talked before that if we kept up some sustained pressure they could self-destruct a bit and they did that," he said.

While Watson was delighted with Bailey making the top score in his first ODI, he was full of praise for Doherty's response to being blasted out of the attack.

"Xavier has improved, he has just developed his cricket over the last couple of years and now he has a number of different game plans that he can go to," Watson added.

"For me as a captain, he really is a pleasure to skipper because he knows that if things don't go exactly right he has always got another way to be successful and he did that today with four wickets at a really crucial time".

The only real bright spot for West Indies was the all-round performance of Jamaican Samuels, but Sammy remained upbeat.

"We are very disappointed. Hopefully we can bounce back in the second match. We have two more games here and we have a history of getting better as a series goes on."

The two teams observed a minute's silence prior to the start of the match in honour of Runako Morton after the former Leeward Islands captain and West Indies batsman died in a car crash two weeks ago.

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