A clean sweep of Sri Lanka will perch India to top

DUBAI: There's a lot at stake in India's one-day series against Sri Lanka beginning July 21 as Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men have the chance to regain the number one spot if they clean-sweeps the five-match rubber.

India, who are at fourth spot in the Reliance ICC ODI rankings, last held the number one position briefly in September 2009 but if it achieves a clean sweep against Sri Lanka, Dhoni's side will unseat current table-toppers Australia.

The series, which starts in Hambantota on July 21, brings together the finalists in the World Cup 2011, held in Mumbai in April last year. India won that match by six wickets to lift the trophy for the first time in 28 years.

After years of domination by Australia, the Reliance ICC ODI Team Rankings table is now extremely tight after Michael Clarke's team suffered a 4-0 defeat in England recently.

Only two rating points separate the top four teams with South Africa and England sandwiched between Australia and fourth placed India.

Sri Lanka-India series again utilizes the three grounds which are a legacy of the World Cup 2011. The first two ODIs are in Hambantota, followed by two at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo with the final match in Pallekele on August 4.

At the conclusion of the series, the ICC will publish the annual update of the table which will discard the results of ODIs played prior to August 2010.

Reliance ICC ODI Team Rankings: 1. Australia (119); 2. South Africa (118); 3. England (118); 4. India (117); 5. Sri Lanka (112); 6. Pakistan (103); 7. West Indies (87); 8. New Zealand (83); 9. Bangladesh (67); 10. Zimbabwe (46); 11. Ireland (36); 12. Netherlands (15); 13. Kenya (8).

Indian cricket team leaves for Sri Lanka

CHENNAI: The Indian cricket team on Wednesday left for Sri Lanka to play five one-dayers and a Twenty20 against the island nation from Saturday.

The first ODI of the series, which marks the start of the season following a seven-week break, will be played in Hambantota.

"Most of the players have come back after a long break and the body looks very different and their fielding and other activities look very different," Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni told reporters before heading to Sri Lanka.

"We will make the most of the rest that we have got. It's the start of the season and we want to start it on a good note."

After this, India will host New Zealand, play the World Twenty20 Championships and then host England and Pakistan at the end of the year.

The Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL) - Media Launch

The Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL) is the premier Twenty20 cricket competition in Sri Lanka held by Sri Lanka Cricket. Its first season is to be held in 2012 and has replaced the Inter-Provincial Twenty20.

 In February 2012, SLC signed a renewed deal with Somerset Entertainment Ventures to hold the tournament in August 2012. The matches will be held at Colombo and Kandy, with the seven teams as originally planned.The BCCI has said that Indian players in the SLPL was a possibility.

 The Sri Lanka Premier League is in partnership with the MCC Spirit of Cricket initiative, similar to that of the one established by MCC and the DLF Indian Premier League in 2008. In June 2012, the tournament went through a major structural change. Instead of the provincial teams, there will be franchises owned by private owners like the IPL and BPL. Seven franchises will take part in the inaugural tournament.

The SLPL was officially launched on 16 July 2012 at Cinnamon Grand hotel in Colombo at an event attended by a host of media personnel and cricketers. Sri Lanka Cricket Chairman Upali Dharmadasa announced plans to add two more franchises in the following years to the league and cricket into all areas of the nation. It was announced that like the Indian Premier League there will be cheerleaders and other entertainment during the tournament. The night also saw the launch of the official website, mascot, theme song and logo of the SLPL

Slinga Malinga Photo Collection

Lasith Malinga is a Sri Lankan cricketer with a rare round-arm action, fans referred as a sling action, which leads to his nickname, "Slinga Malinga".

He kisses the ball before he runs up, because when you're the sexiest cricketer alive - more of which later - you're allowed to do just about anything. Sort of like Sreesanth, then, though much less irritating.

The Slinga, The Pocket Rocket, The Sidewinder

Name
Lasith Malinga

Aka
The Slinga, The Pocket Rocket, The Sidewinder

The hair
Malinga's coiffure has been produced by a Bollywood set designer who was given unfettered access to the finest blowtorches, acids and polymers known to man. Or rather more prosaically, by Colombo hairdresser Nishantha Jayasekera, who took a mere two days over his confection. "Malinga likes to stand out, so he goes for unusual styles unlike the other well-known cricketers," said Jayasekera. Now you tell us.

The action
Malinga learned his cricket on the beaches of Hikkaduwa, Sri Lanka's west-coast tourist paradise, with a tennis ball that was shaved and then burned to make it harder. Hence the round-arm action, so the ball didn't bounce miles high, see? "The first time I ever picked up a leather ball, it felt so heavy, so strange, like something from out of the world," he revealed.

The quirk
He kisses the ball before he runs up, because when you're the sexiest cricketer alive - more of which later - you're allowed to do just about anything. Sort of like Sreesanth, then, though much less irritating.

Notable claim to fame
He took four in four against South Africa in a World Cup game, shaving a few years off the lifespans of the South African team and making a cigarette smoker out of Graeme Smith in the process.

Dubious claim to fame
Malinga almost brought about a change in the colour of the umpires' trousers after the opposition claimed his release was not visible against the black of said trousers.

What you may not have known about him
He used to be good at math in school.

Motto
If you don't sling, don't ring.

Secret weapon
Malinga recently consulted a doctor who "works with supernatural powers and herbs", Eliyantha White, who helped him overcome injury and speed to fitness again. "I don't know what he does and how he does it but it works," Malinga beamed.

Favourite musical
Hair!

Favourite umpire
Er, maybe not.

Favourite movie
Edward Scissorhands

Favourite song
"Freak Like Me"

Anything else? 
Yes, our Lasith has a subversively pierced eyebrow - all the better to distract the batsman with cunning glints of sunlight off the stud embedded therein.

Statutory tagline
No skunks were harmed in the making of this player.

What they say
"He is a good cricketer, but not a decent-looking gentleman."
Ranjith Chandrasekera, a Sri Lankan who was singularly unimpressed with Malinga being voted the sexiest cricketer at the last World Cup

What he's promised to do if he becomes Prime Minister of Sri Lanka
Declare styling gel a basic necessity.

Dilshan with his little Angel

Tillakaratne Dilshan is one of the most exciting batsmen in the game today. He is technically sound, but, much like Virender Sehwag, he uses the defensive option only as a last resort, after all the attacking alternatives have been explored. He loves to make room and thrash the ball through the off side, but the stroke that bears his signature more than any other is the one he developed for the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 - the eponymously named "Dilscoop" shot over his head, which confounded bowlers and experts alike.

In fact, 2009 was a watershed year in his career, and a huge factor was his move up the batting order to open the innings in all three forms of the game. It was a move that proved his making, as he exploited attacking fields and amassed huge scores in all formats: he scored 11 international hundreds in the year, and won the World Twenty20 Player of the Series prize.

Dilshan's abundant talent was never in doubt from the moment he made his debut, but he went through several early troughs, most notably when he was dropped from 2001 to 2003. Having burst onto the international scene with an unbeaten 163 against Zimbabwe in his first series in November 1999, Dilshan's career remained largely unfulfilled until he cemented his place as one of the most destructive openers in the modern era. Add his electric fielding, especially at backward point, and his underrated offspin, and Dilshan is a quality package. In 2011 he was named Sri Lanka's captain, after the resignation of Kumar Sangakkara, but his reign lasted less than a year, with Mahela Jayawardene replacing him after Sri Lanka's disastrous tour to South Africa in 2011-12. 

Dilshan with his angel 

SLPL Official Logos

Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL) last evening unveiled its logo in a carnival of passion for cricket at an event held at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel in Colombo.   The organizers of the event said accordingly, in 25 days or even before, cricket fever is certain to sweep the country, dwarfing all other activities.  This event is expected to give a major fillip to the country’s tourism, leisure and entertainment industry.

The 24-game contest, featuring seven teams named after selected provinces of the country and involving 112 local and 56 global players, will begin on 10 August with a mega ceremony. The matches will be played in Colombo and Pallekelle.

Dharmadasa said that the SLPL would be a big boost for Under 21 cricketers, Team players, National Squad members and top stars locally as well as globally would get an opportunity to play competitive cricket with some of the world’s best names in the Twenty 20 game.

The former Sri Lankan skipper Kumar Sangakkara said this is a great opportunity to promote Sri Lankan players and uplift Sri Lankan cricket while upholding the MCC spirit of cricket. He said that although a lot of foreign stars will feature in the tournament, Sri Lankan cricket will take center stage. He said that hopefully SLPL will be a stepping stone for a feast of talented cricketers thus creating healthy competition among them in order to have a top notched pool to choose from.  

Organizers of the tournament said that the SLPL has thus far been a success by attracting $ 30 million in bids for the seven provincial franchises for seven years with an average price of US$ 4.33 million each. The seven franchises and their icon players are Basnahira (Western) Province – Tillakaratne Dilshan; Kandurata (Central) Province – Kumar Sangakkara, Nagenahira (Eastern) Province –  Angelo Matthews; Ruhuna (Southern) Province –  Lasith Malinga; Uthura (Northern) Province – Muttiah Muralitharan; Uva (South East) Province  –  Chris Gayle and Wayamba (North West) Province – Mahela Jayawardena. (niz)

Kumar Sangakkara breaks Gavaskar's record

Kumar Sangakkara went past Don Bradman with century No. 30 against Pakistan on day four in Colombo

Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara emerged as the highest run scorer against Pakistan surpassing Sunil Gavaskar's record during the second Test against Pakistan on Tuesday.