Tendulkar to play in Irani Cup

• Sachin Tendulkar confirmed on Saturday that he was fit and will play the Irani Cup tie for the Rest of India against Delhi at Vadodara later this month.
• "I will be participating in the Irani Cup. I feel just fine now," he said during a promotional event, when asked about his physical fitness.
• Selection for the Test squad will take place between September 24 and 28 and the master blaster's name is certain to feature.
• Tendulkar had to miss the five-match ODI series against Sri Lanka, after being a part of the Test squad under Anil Kumble that lost the series to the home team 1-2, after sustaining an elbow injury while fielding in the third and final match at Colombo. He returned home and was replaced in the ODI squad by S. Badrinath.
• Asked about the debate regarding senior versus junior players in the Indian squad, Tendulkar opted for the diplomatic approach, saying, "We should show maturity regarding the issue and not drag it out."
• The Little Master wished the Indian Olympic team the very best for their next endeavour and congratulated the medal winners. Showing concern at the lack of infrastructure that faced the players, he said, "It is a very big thing that we could win three medals and it is a moment of pride for not just the winners but every Indian resident across the globe.
• "This is just the beginning. We will surely bring home more medals. So I feel that the concerned associations should take the responsibility to provide infrastructure to the players. After one achieves success, the effort is applauded but there is a long period before the event that the player put in their heart and soul before the final display."
• He also felt that winning on the Olympic stage took a lot of effort and hard work from the player's point of view. It was not just practice but the preparation towards it that also played a huge part.
• Tendulkar was of the opinion that if the preparation was not solid, the outcome would not be good as well. "Hence if we want our players to bring home more medals then they should be given the necessary backing from the people involved," he added.

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Tyagi tops but Aussies escape

• On a day when everything moved at a snail’s pace, Sudeep Tyagi’s late burst injected a degree of artificial excitement. The strapping medium pacer’s four wickets in the final session came a little too late though, allowing Australia A escape with a draw against India A.
• The three-day affair, which ended at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Friday, could have been more interesting if five hours of play were not lost on the first two days. For, the Australians after adding just three runs to their overnight first innings score of 113/8 before being dismissed, were struggling at 263/7 following on, when play was called off.
• The day began on a bright note, assuring that there would be no loss of play. Mohnish Parmar (3/37) and Piyush Chawla (3/39) were on the job right away, needing just nine balls to dismiss the last two Aussie batsmen.
• Trailing by 168, the tourists led by captain Simon Katich, were positive in the second essay. Early wickets and spinners had troubled them in the first innings, but on a sultry day the Australian batsmen played more purposefully.
• Openers Simon Katich and Philip Hughes (43 (68b, 8x4, 1x6) took the attack to the Indians and used their feet to good effect to drive the spinners through the off-side. After a quick 88-run opening partnership, Hughes threw away all the good work. The 19-year-old, chased a Parmar doosra and was caught behind by Parthiv Patel. Five over later, Parmar struck again when Adam Voges (9) holed out to Tyagi at deep square-leg.
• Marcus North (88, 149b, 10x4), joined Katich (56, 112b, 7x4, 1x6) in the middle and the southpaws allayed any fears of another batting collapse. Katich, with his unorthodox but effective batting style, used his past experience on Indian pitches to handle Parmar and Chawla with ease. For Indians, the breakthrough however refused to materialise. Skipper S. Badrinath thought it was time for some slow off-spin from himself and Katich responded by gifting his wicket.

'Top order key in India-Oz clash'

• Australia ended their 39-year-old drought of a series win in India back in 2004 when the McGraths and Gillespies with able support from the legendary Shane Warne rocked the Indian batting order. The Aussies did retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy earlier this year but with the absence of Glenn McGrath and Warne, their bowlers did have a tough time even while dealing with India’s lower order batsmen. However, John Buchanan, under whose coaching the Aussies triumphed four years ago in India, feels that the performance of the top order batsmen of both teams could well turn out to be the difference in the upcoming series that kicks off on October 9 in Bengaluru.
• "No doubt, it’s going to be a tough series. Both India and Australia have a good bowling attack. But I think the result depends more on how the top order batsmen of both sides fare since it’s they who have to take the bulk of the responsibility," Buchanan said at the Eden Gardens on Friday.
• Questions relating the controversy surrounding Andrew Symonds were obvious and the former Aussie coach was quick enough to come up with a ‘safe’ reply. "I am some miles away to comment on what’s happening with him (Symonds). All I can say is that within a week or two, we might come to know whether he would be part of the Australian squad."
• Currently in the city for a talent-scouting programme, the Kolkata Knight Riders coach is of the view that a proper balance in the team is yet to be attained. "Of course, there’s a good mix in the side, but what we require most at the moment is a quality spinner (preferably a leg-break bowler) for better results in the next IPL," he expressed.
• Mystery spinner Ajantha Mendis, who was expected to lead the Knight Riders’ spin department from the next edition of the IPL, might well be missed as Srilanka are scheduled to tour England in May 2009. "I am not very sure of the fixtures but international matches should always have the first priority," he said.
• Nevertheless, he was all praise for Bengal players Laxmiratan Shukla and Ashok Dinda, the young medium pacer who has been called up as a replacement for Shantakumaran Sreesanth (who’s still nursing an injury) in the India A squad for the second Test against Australia A at Hyderabad. Buchanan also informed that all the selected aspirants from Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Kolkata would be taken to Brisbane for a two-week training in two batches. The first batch leaves on September 21, while the other leaves during Christmas and New Year period