If you look at the track record of India’s national selection committee over the last few months, it is next to impossible to pick a trend and predict who they will plump for on Tuesday when they pick the team for the Twenty20 World Championship to be played in South Africa in September. Will they pick a squad on policy – youth over experience, Improvisers over orthodox players – or will they stick with the tried and tested players who have performed in Tests and one-dayers?The biggest headache, dealing with massively experienced big stars who have made names for themselves in longer versions of the game but are untried in, and perhaps unsuited to, Twenty20 cricket, has thankfully been taken out of their hands. When Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly ruled themselves out of the long list of 30 probables, they gave Dilip Vengsarkar and his four colleagues a golden chance.On Tuesday we will know how, if at all, this chance has been taken. There are growing signs that Mahendra Singh Dhoni will lead the Twenty20 squad, having settled into the vice-captaincy of the team in longer versions of the game. He would be a natural choice for successor.The strongest indicator of the clarity of the selectors’ thinking will come when they decide on Virender Sehwag. He was left out of the Test team to tour England on the back of poor performances in limited-overs cricket, despite having an above average time in Tests. Now, when it comes to picking a team for a version of the game closer to ODIs, where Sehwag’s record has been far from flash, what will they do? Since being dropped from the national side Sehwag has struggled elsewhere, not making a mark in some matches in America, and failing to hit it off in the KSCA invitational tournament in Bangalore, where he is currently representing ONGC.If you look at it logically – and that is not something you can consistently accuse the national selectors of – then Sehwag’s place in the Twenty20 squad may be in doubt. Having said that, there is no sense in proving a point merely for the sake of consistency, and Sehwag should find a place in the squad merely for the brand of cricket he plays.What is not in any doubt, however, is the case of Irfan Pathan. His struggles have continued on India A’s tour of Zimbabwe and Kenya, a level of opposition against whom you would expect him to get wickets by the bagful. But even there he is being overshadowed by lesser lights, such as Tamil Nadu’s Yo Mahesh.Another potential stumbling block is the case of Harbhajan Singh but he has been among the wickets in county cricket in England, and should find a place in at least the Twenty20 squad, if not also the ODI squad.

One of the difficulties India’s selectors face is that they cannot possibly watch all the domestic cricket that happens before picking a team. In the case of the Twenty20, they cannot even proffer that excuse for they did watch the domestic Twenty20 tournament in Ahmedabad and Mumbai. There, they would have seen the clean hitting of S Anirudha, and the all-round showing of Karan Goel. They would have Niraj Patel’s ability to play the percentages and finish games, and Yusuf Pathan’s brand of utility cricket. But will they remember any of this, and pick a squad full of fresh, out-of-the box selections, or will they just run with the usual suspects, some of whom may not even be keen on this form of the game?The selectors, who will meet via a teleconference as Vengsarkar is in England while his four counterparts are in India, have a simpler task when it comes to picking the squad for the seven ODIs against England and the one-off ODI against Scotland in Scotland. The return of the Test specialists – Wasim Jaffer, VVS Laxman, Anil Kumble, Ranadeb Bose – automatically frees up space for the inclusion of Ajit Agarkar, Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina. Piyush Chawla was a revelation during the ODIs against Bangladesh, took 3 for 47 against South Africa in Ireland and has continued to pick up wickets for India A. Gautam Gambhir, who is in England but has not got an international game, made a century in the last ODI against Bangladesh and followed it up with an 80 against Ireland. Both will consider themselves desperately unlucky if they fail to make the cut.Once again, though, the selectors will have to jog their memories a bit. For it has been more than a month since India last played an ODI, and the victory in the second Test at Trent Bridge, and the possibility of a Test series win, should not cloud their judgment when they pick the team for the forthcoming ODIs.Twenty20 probablesVirender Sehwag, Suresh Raina, Mohammad Kaif, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni, Dinesh Karthik, Irfan Pathan, Yusuf Pathan, Sreesanth, Manoj Tiwary, Ajit Agarkar, Karan Goel, Zaheer Khan, RP Singh, Ishant Sharma, Abhishek Jhunjhunwala, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rajesh Pawar, Piyush Chawla, Harbhajan Singh, Joginder Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Gautam Gambhir, Munaf Patel, Niranjan Behara, Praveen Kumar, Anirudha Srikkanth, Ramesh Powar, Robin Uthappa, Niraj Patel.

Stuart MacGill feels more at ease in the Australian squad under Tim Nielsen than John Buchanan, and he hopes to play until at least the 2009 Ashes in England. MacGill, who injured his knee at the team’s boot camp last year, said life was difficult for fringe players under Buchanan.”Buck was obviously focused on the 11 or 12 people who were going to win him a game at any time and I wasn’t a part of the team for most of it,” MacGill told the . “It wasn’t surprising I wasn’t top on the list of priorities.”It’s not a case of Buck not being my cup of tea. But I think I am going to really enjoy working with Tim because he’s really somebody who is trying to understand the way I am approaching my cricket. I really like Tim personally. I know that he respects the way that different people go about their jobs.”MacGill, 36, flies to Pakistan with the Australia A squad today and he expects to make a return trip there when Australia visit for three Tests in February. Barring any serious injuries – MacGill had elbow surgery during the winter but has recovered well – he wants to stay ahead of the young spinners Dan Cullen and Cullen Bailey right through Australia’s hectic 18-month schedule.”I’d like to play for another couple of years,” he said. “Realistically speaking I think we’ve got an Ashes tour in a couple of years and that’s something I’m aiming for. The amount of workload next year would be daunting for any Australian bowler but I’d like to think I would play in an as many of those Tests as I want to.”Ricky Ponting was not expecting any problems to arise from MacGill becoming a permanent fixture in the team, despite MacGill’s temperamental nature and reports that he did not always get along with his team-mates. Ponting said Buchanan and MacGill had clashed on several occasions.”We knew they were going on in and around the team but they are grown men and they handled it the right way,” Ponting said. “It was always kept away from the rest of the team. I don’t think I will have to address it. I don’t think I will have to deal with Stuart at all.”

Shoaib Malik, the Pakistan captain, has dismissed the suggestion that the team batting second is likely to win the World Twenty20 matches in South Africa. “If you have a strong bowling line-up up you can bat first and put pressure on the other team,” Malik told agencies.Pakistan play New Zealand in the semi-final in Cape Town today and Malik said, apart from making any major mistakes, his side had to avoid fielding lapses, like giving away extra runs, to reach the final.Malik gave credit to coach Geoff Lawson for Pakistan’s improvement in fielding. “His [Lawson’s] presence is a big support to us because he minutely watches the performance of every player, listing their mistakes and then works on them,” Malik said.Lawson, in turn, praised the team for proving the critics wrong and reaching the semi-final stage of the tournament.”We faced different types of rivals – from the preliminary round to the Super Eights phase – and so there were different levels of competitions; obviously there were varied challenges midway but the team overcame all of them successfully,” said Lawson, who is on his first assignment with Pakistan.”We lost one game to India and I would say it was a decent defeat as we almost had won and then suddenly could not perform in the bowl-out format which was new to the players,” he said. “After beating Scotland the way we played against Sri Lanka and then Australia is a credit to establish the team’s reputation as a winning side.”Lawson also said Pakistan’s pace attack in Mohammad Asif and Umar Gul could trouble any batting line-up in the world. “We [also] have some competent batsmen besides a couple of good allrounders. So I think it is a right combination needed by a team.” But the team may have to rethink their strategies in the event Asif, who is doubtful to play after he sustained an elbow injury, is unavailable to lead the attack.

Times have changed. The first time India were crowned world champions, back in 1983, they had 77 days off between the World Cup final and their next international fixture. On Saturday, they begin a series against Australia just four days after their thrilling five-run win in the ICC World Twenty20 final. Those four days included a five-hour motorcade through the streets of Mumbai, a public reception at the Wankhede Stadium, a quick visit home (in some cases) and one practice session at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore.India have a new captain who must motivate his team for the first of the dozen ODIs they will play over the next six weeks. Mahendra Singh Dhoni also has to figure out just how much India need to switch gears from their successful Twenty20 approach.Gautam Gambhir, prolific in the Twenty20 games but uncertain when slotted at No. 3 in the 50-over version, might be better off adopting the same tactics as he did in South Africa. Though he opened there, he will probably bat at No. 3 tomorrow. The return of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid means India have to decide whether to retain Dinesh Karthik or local boy Robin Uthappa if they opt for seven batsmen. In this scenario Irfan Pathan, man of the match in the Twenty20 final, may not fit in as the fourth seam bowler, especially given how well Sreesanth bowled against Australia recently. Zaheer Khan will return, and the recalled Harbhajan Singh will be handed the opportunity to prove that he belongs.Australia’s pride was dented in South Africa and this is a chance to prove that was a blip. A hamstring injury has ruled out Ricky Ponting for the first few games but stand-in captain Adam Gilchrist has been successful here before, leading Australia to a rare Test series win in the subcontinent in 2004, when Ponting broke a thumb before the tour.Australia, through a combination of retirement, injuries and impending fatherhood, are set to make six changes for their first ODI since the World Cup final. There are spots up for grabs for Adam Voges, James Hopes and Ben Hilfenhaus, the three rookies. Each has tasted international cricket but has yet to be given major opportunities. Voges, with runs for Australia A in Pakistan recently, is likely to take Michael Hussey’s place and Brad Haddin could find a spot down the order.Australia’s reliance has been on pace recently but the sole spinner included could be a handful on Indian surfaces. Brad Hogg may be on the wrong side of 36 but he’s an underrated spin bowler and has featured in two World Cup-winning sides. He didn’t get a game in South Africa and was itching to have a go here. “We’ve been training for four months and we’re professionals. I don’t have any excuses, first game or last game. I’ve tried to prepare in every best way I can and hopefully I can do well,” he told . “Definitely I’m looking to get into the Test side. Hopefully I can do well and dish up those chances, get into the contest and have a tussle against a quality side. I’m ready to rock and roll.”The surface looks to be a batting track but there’s good bounce here for the pace bowlers, as evident during the Afro-Asia cup here in June. The last time Australia played India here in November 2003 frenetic hundreds from Gilchrist and Ponting carried them to 347 and a 61-run victory.Off the field, there’s an incredible buzz surrounding the match. Tickets for one-day matches are hard to come by at the best of times; India’s success has merely increased the anticipation. There was a good crowd to watch Tendulkar, Dravid, Ganguly, Zaheer and Ramesh Powar practice at the ground. As Ganguly batted and Tendulkar took catches from a young club cricketer, the big screen at the ground played a repeat telecast of the Twenty20 final. There was a neat juxtaposition of Ganguly being bowled, in real time, and behind him, larger than life, Gambhir driving Mohammad Asif imperiously through the covers.Back, one more time, to 1983: The next time they faced West Indies after that balmy June evening, India were walloped. They’ve just knocked Australia out of the Twenty20 tournament, and you can bet Australia will look for revenge. And India? Well they’ll just be keen to prove the times really have changed.Teams:India (likely): 1 Sourav Ganguly, 2 Sachin Tendulkar, 3 Gautam Gambhir, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 Rahul Dravid, 6 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt/wk), 7 Dinesh Karthik, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Zaheer Khan, 10 Sreesanth, 11 RP Singh.Australia (likely): 1 Adam Gilchrist (capt/wk), 2 Mathew Hayden, 3 Brad Hodge, 4 Michael Clarke, 5 Andrew Symonds, 6 Brad Haddin, 7 Adam Voges, 8 Brad Hogg, 9 Brett Lee, 10 Mitchell Johnson, 11 Stuark Clark.

To compound Bermuda’s blushes following a 3-0 series defeat by Kenya, their allrounder, Lionel Cann, has been banned for two ODIs. Cann was found guilty of breaching the ICC Code of Conduct during his team’s three-wicket defeat to Kenya in Nairobi on Saturday in which he showed ‘serious dissent’.Cann stood his ground when the umpire, Ian Howell, gave him out lbw and only left the field when forced to do so by his captain, Irving Romaine. Cann then kicked over a dustbin after crossing the boundary rope and could be heard venting his anger from the dressing room.”This ban should serve as a message to players that this type of behaviour is not allowed,” Mike Proctor, the match referee said. “Such acts are completely unacceptable and on that basis I found the player guilty of the Level 2 offence.”Cricket is a sport which teaches us discipline and respect for an umpire’s decision. Anyone associated with this game has to respect its values and Laws and anyone being disrespectful has to be penalised.”

Ashley Giles, the former England left-arm spinner, will join the England Performance Programme (EPP) squad in India as the team’s official spin coach.”I’m really looking forward to the opportunity of working with the players involved in the EPP,” Giles said. “It’s exciting to be so hands-on in a coaching role, particularly with my new position as director of cricket at Warwickshire.”It’ll be great to get back involved in the England set-up after being forced out early through injury and being around an England dressing room again in India will be a fantastic experience.”Martyn Moxon, the director of cricket at Yorkshire, takes on the role of batting coach for the four-week high performance camp, which encompasses two weeks of intensive training at Mohali, followed by two weeks at the MRF Academy in Chennai.

Cuba will not be playing in the 2008 Stanford 20/20 because of a political embargo, the competition’s board of directors has announced.The United States embargo against Cuba means that organisations and American citizens such as Allen Stanford have to make application to, and receive special permission from the US Government to conduct any type of activity with Cuba. Stanford’s application was denied but now he plans to ask the US government to reconsider for future tournaments.”We have been anxious to include the entire Caribbean in the Stanford 20/20 Cricket Tournament and I am extremely disappointed that Cuba will not be able to play,” said Stanford. “Stanford 20/20 is requesting that the denial from the United States Government be reconsidered and we are exploring every option to secure their future participation.”The news disappointed Cuba, who have been training intensely for what was to be their first official tournament outside their country. Cuba was scheduled to play in the first match against St. Maarten on Friday, January 25 but their opposition will now get a bye.

Scorecard

Tamil Nadu lost nine wickets for 123 runs at the Chepauk as Delhi made a spirited fightback after the openers had added 127. Chetanya Nanda triggered the collapse with three wickets in 13 deliveries, while Rajat Bhatia and Pradeep Sangwan followed up on the act with two wickets apiece.Earlier M Vijay and Abhinav Mukund had given Tamil Nadu yet another good start as they made Delhi wait for 39 overs for the first breakthrough. The half-centuries the two scored were Vijay’s third and Mukund’s fourth score in excess of 50 this season. But after the first wicket, the highest partnership Tamil Nadu managed was 28 runs for the sixth wicket.
Scorecard
Piyush Chawla and Tanmay Srivastava missed maiden centuries as Uttar Pradesh finished the first day in Hyderabad at 293 for 6. After Tanmay lost his opening partner Rohit Prakash in the first over, he anchored the first half of UP’s innings. He shared stands worth 61 and 80 with Suresh Raina and Mohammad Kaif respectively and then became part of a mini middle-order collapse as 141 for 2 became 168 for 5. He scored 81, three less than his previous best.Chawla and Amir Khan stemmed the collapse and added 112 for the sixth wicket, Chawla taking charge and scoring a career-best 82 off 130 balls. Amir, the sedate partner, ended the day unbeaten on 44 off 119 deliveries.
Scorecard
Bengal bowled Andhra out for 121 at Eden Gardens to give themselves a hope of getting a bonus point and avoiding relegation. They ended the day at 46 for 1, 75 behind Andhra. Rana Chowdhary, the left-arm medium bowler playing his second match, took four wickets in 6.2 overs to rattle the Andhra batsmen. Ranadeb Bose took three wickets and SS Paul chipped in with two.Andhra’s batting never got going as the 39-run eighth-wicket stand was the highest partnership, and B Sumanth, the No. 7, was the top-scorer with 30.
ScorecardIn a relegation face-off match, Himachal Pradesh wasted a good start to lose nine wickets for 121 runs and get bowled out for 280 against Rajasthan in Dharamsala. Before the collapse, Mukesh Sharma and Hemant Dogra had kept Rajasthan completely out of the game with a 127-run second-wicket stand. Mukesh went on to score his first first-class century, but saw the rest of the batsmen fall at the other end. Mukhesh, 101, was the ninth wicket to fall. Dogra scored his personal best with 71.Shamsher Singh dismissed the two of them, while Mohammad Aslam and Sumit Mathur took three wickets apiece for Rajasthan.Karnataka 2 for 0 trail Maharashtra 276 (Khadiwale 96, Mohan 51, Vinay Kumar 4-66) by 274 runs
Scorecard Maharashtra, who looked well placed for a big total against Karnataka, collapsed to be bowled out for 276 in Ratnagiri. From 210 for 3, they lost the last seven wickets for 66, as Harshad Khadiwale missed out on his second century of the season. A quick half-century by Dhruv Mohan took Maharashtra to the eventual 276.Maharashtra had made six changes to their side; three of the in-coming players being debutants, while Hrishikesh Kanitkar, Sairaj Bahutule, Salil Agharkar and Kedar Jadhav were dropped.For Karnataka, D Vinay Kumar and NC Aiyappa did most of the damage, taking four and three wickets respectively.
Scorecard
Led by the dour Shitanshu Kotak and fluent Cheteshwar Pujara, Saurashtra ground the Mumbai bowlers and lost only two wickets for 202 on the first day at the Wankhede Stadium. To make matters worse for Mumbai, none of the two was done with by stumps: Kotak was unbeaten on 73, Pujara on 61.Kotak came in to bat in the fourth over of the day and spent an even six hours in the middle. Pujara, the leading run-getter in Ranji trophy so far, crossed fifty for sixth time in the season and is six short of 800 runs from the season.Mumbai employed seven bowlers, but only Murtuza Hussain met success, ending the day with figures of 2 for 32 from 19 overs.
ScorecardThe Baroda lower order recovered well after Orissa, led by Basanth Mohanty, had reduced them to 81 for 6. They ended the day at 241 for 9, thanks to useful contributions from Pinal Shah, Abhimanyu Chauhan, Sankalp Vohra and Sumit Singh.Shah and Chauhan started the comeback with a 55-run seventh-wicket partnership. After Chauhan fell for 35, Rajesh Pawar fell quickly too, but Shah and Vohra added 27 for the ninth wicket. Shah got out for 44. The unbeaten last-wicket partnership of 71 between Vohra and Sumit was Baroda’s highest. Vohra ended the day on 45, and Singh, the No. 11, on 29. These are career-best scores for Chauhan, Vohra and Sumit.For Orissa Basanth Mohanty continued his impressive first season with 4 for 55.

National Four-Day League

The usual script didn’t look like changing for Rajshahi, who won the toss at the Rajshahi Stadium, and Chittagong found themselves at 29 for 4 by the 17th over. Skipper Ehsanul Haque (66) and Dhiman Ghosh (50) resurrected the innings with a fifth-wicket stand of 116 but seamer Mohammad Shahzada removed both within five runs and Chittagong were all out for 198. Rajshahi lost their openers in consecutive balls and closed the first day on 24 for 2. The following day, they continued to lose wickets without any kind of partnership developing and left-arm spinner Mohammad Younus got on top, taking 4 for 22 from 11 overs, as Rajshahi were skittled out for 118 just after lunch. Gazi Salahuddin (49) and Masumud Dowla featured in an opening stand of 76 as Chittagong took a 193-run lead into the third day with seven wickets in hand. The prolific Nazimuddin top-scored with 52, as Chittagong, with contributions from their lower order, finished their second innings on 301. Rajshahi’s spirit doesn’t die easy and they started well in pursuit of 382 with Farhad Hossain (83) and Shakil Haider (76) getting them on their way. At 203 for 2, Rajshahi were making a mockery of the steep target before offspinner Yasin Arafat sent back Hossain and captain Khaled Mashud (0) in the same over. Naeem Islam (48) and Mushfiqur Rahman (47) kept fighting until Arafat (4 for 98) got the better of them too. There were still anxious moments for Chittagong as Alamgir Kabir and Saiful Islam put on 47 for the last wicket and it was left to Ehsanul to ease the nerves when he had Islam caught behind with Rajshahi 22 runs short of the target.Khulna, without a host of players who are on national duty, restricted Sylhet to 300 in their first innings at the Bir Shrestha Shahid Motiur Rahman Stadium. The Golam brothers, Rahman and Mabud, hit fifties for Sylhet while Murad Khan finished with 4 for 79. Khulna did even better when their turn came to bat. Nazmus Sadat fell for 47 but his opening partner, Imrul Kayash, raced to 87 not out at stumps on day two with Khulna on 193 for 1. Kayash extended his score to 138, his third century in the NCL as Khulna piled up 421, all of their top six batsman scoring more than 40 except captain Habibul Bashar, who was dismissed for a duck. Left-arm spinner Enamul Haque (jnr), was a stand out for Sylhet, considering that his 5 for 126 came on a flat pitch. Sylhet briefly stuttered, losing four wickets for 166, before they were rescued by centurions Alok Kapali and Rajin Saleh. Kapali’s 111 came of 110 balls while Saleh was happy to nudge it around and wait for the loose balls and was unbeaten on 131 when play was called off with Sylhet on 362 for 5.Barisal captain Shahriar Nafees put Dhaka in at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium and the move seemed to have paid off when they were struggling at 132 for 6. No. 9 Mohammad Sharif’s 57 and Mosharraf Hossain’s 40 pushed Dhaka to 262. Barisal were going great guns at 100 without loss but they fell apart after the openers Nafees (48) and Nasiruddin Faruque (61) got out. Mohammad Rafique and Mahbubul Alam took three wickets apiece as Barisal’s innings finished at 193. Rapid innings’ from stand-in skipper Al Sahariar (92 not out), Mahmudullah (81) and Nadif Chowdhury (50) allowed Dhaka to declare on 294 for 5 before lunch on the last day, with a lead of 363. The Barisal batsmen offered little resistance, with left-arm spinner Hossain (5 for 27) and Alam (3 for 46) leading Dhaka to a 217-run victory.

NCL One-Day

Rajshahi defeated Chittagong at the Rajshahi Stadium to clinch the NCL one-day title with two rounds remaining. Shakil Haider, with 95, was the mainstay in Rajshahi’s 242 before Chittagong were thunderstruck by medium-pacer Delwar Hossain, who took 5 for 34. Faisal Hossain’s unbeaten 91 only delayed the inevitable as Chittagong were shot out for 172.Kapali blasted a 53-ball 73 as Sylhet made 278 for 8 against Khulna at the Bir Shrestha Shahid Motiur Rahman Stadium. Kapali capped off a fine all-round performance by taking 3 for 45 as Khulna could only muster 192, Nazmus Sadat’s 78-ball 83 going in vain.Dhaka, despite fifties from Mahmudullah and Nadif Chowdhury, could only manage 196 against Barisal at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium. Openers Nafees and Faruque made 61 and 55 respectively as Barisal eased to an eight-wicket win.Player of the week – Alok Kapali (Sylhet)For the second time in eight rounds, Kapali has stood out. Sylhet’s rejuvenation can partly be attributed to Kapali, who is playing his natural game and enjoying the challenge. In the first innings against Khulna, he made 34, and then hit 111 in the second. Kapali’s leg spin also fetched two wickets in Khulna’s second innings. He was devastating in the following one-day match – making a whirlwind 73 and then claiming 3 wickets and a catch.

National Cricket League

National Cricket League one-day

“No!” A spectator at the ground grimaced for the country when Adam Gilchrist swiped a catch to cover. The disappointment was not for the shot, but for his final Test batting act in a career that stole breaths for nine years. Feelings for Gilchrist were still raw after the retirement announcement the previous day and as he emerged from the dressing room the noise grew as quickly as when a teenager has charge of the stereo.Spectators around Australia have roared for Sachin Tendulkar over the past month, but those were whispers compared to this reception. The crowd stood and the India players waited for the batsman, clapping in a show of respect which is magnified by the spate of events that have occurred during the series. Gilchrist is a man even opponents love to love.”I have never seen a retirement bring tears to the eyes of six grown men,” a supporter emailed after hearing the news. “Thank you dearly.”At the ground whistles and shouts came from people on their tip-toes and Gilchrist must have wanted to wipe his eyes. Corporate logos are not the only things he has worn on his sleeves throughout a magical career. Ishant Sharma’s first ball was outside off stump and Gilchrist left it, stepping back to run on the spot and shake off the emotion.A “Gilly, Gilly” chant began on the hill and he drove a ball straight for three. It was crisp despite a short follow through. There was hope for a favourite swot over midwicket, but a handful of singles from cuts were taken to deep point instead. He sprinted for runs even when Andrew Symonds ambled and seemed desperate to impress.There was a fierce reminder of his uncompromising power when he slammed a drive off Irfan Pathan that went low and straight towards Billy Bowden. The umpire dropped and rolled and the ball bulleted to the boundary. Bowden was not the only one whose heart-rate lifted.Hope for more explosions ended three balls later when he swung at a wider Pathan delivery and found Virender Sehwag. Unless two batting collapses occur over the next day he won’t be seen again without wicketkeeping gloves. The sadness was masked by more standing and clapping, the most he has ever received for a 14. Sharma walked across and shook Gilchrist’s hand while the Indians re-joined the tribute.The walk to the dressing room was brisk, but he slowed and turned just before reaching the boundary. A careful wave was aimed at his family in the Bradman Stand before he raised his bat to team-mates and members. After a jog up the stairs he was gone, but for those who saw his deeds he won’t be forgotten.