Mumbai: The BCCI on Tuesday shifted the venue of two matches of the forthcoming Champions League T20 tournament that were scheduled to be held in Kolkata to Bengaluru.

The two matches, which were earlier supposed to be held at the Eden Gardens on October 1, have been shifted to Bangalore, keeping in view the commencement the biggest festival of the city — Durga Pooja — from the following day, the BCCI statement said.

“There is a change in the match schedule of the NOKIA CL T20 2011. The Kolkata Police requested this change, in view of the Durga Pooja celebrations in the city, which commence on 2 October 2011,” BCCI said in a statement.

“The two matches that were scheduled to be played in Kolkata on 1 October 2011, have been shifted to Bengaluru,” the release added.

The tournament is scheduled to be played across four cities in India, starting with the first qualifying match between Trinidad and Tobago (West Indies) and a team from Sri Lanka, which is yet to be decided, on September 19 in Hyderabad.

2011 CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Twenty20 – PLAYING SCHEDULE

QUALIFYING STAGE

Each team will play two (2)Qualifying matches, and the top team in each Qualifying Pool, along with the next highest ranked team (decided on Points, then Net Run Rate), will go through to the Group stage.

The Qualifying matches will be

The top team in Pool A will be designated Q1 in the Group Stage.

The top team in Pool B will be designated Q2 in the Group Stage.

The next highest ranked team will be designated Q3 in the Group Stage.

Should Kolkata Knight Riders qualify through being the next highest ranked team, they will assume the Q1 position in the Group Stage, and the top team in Pool A will assume the Q3 position in the Group Stage.

GROUP STAGE

There will betwoGroups, each comprising five teams.

The Group Table is:

Each team will play 4 Group matches, and the top two teams in each Group will go through to the Semi Final stage.

The Group matches will be;

SEMI FINALS

The top two teams from each Group will qualify for the Semi Finals.

If Chennai Super Kings qualifies for the Semi Finals, they will play their Semi Final in Chennai, regardless of finishing position.

If Royal Challengers Bangalore qualifies for the Semi Finals, they will play their Semi Final in Bengaluru, regardless of finishing position, unless they are drawn to play Chennai Super Kings, in which case they will play in Semi Final 2 in Chennai (due to CSK being the defending CLT20 Champions).

FINAL

The winner of each Semi Final will qualify for the Final.

India: The PCB and the BCCI are facing a logistical headache scheduling their bilateral Test series next year in March-April as the Asia Cup tournament is clashing with the much-anticipated series.

One of the senior official from Pakistan cricket board said that the problem was arising because while Pakistan were due to tour India from first week of March, the Asia Cup was also scheduled to start in Bangladesh around the same time.

The official said the statements emanating from the Board of Control for Cricket in India about finding a suitable time slot for the revival of bilateral series between the two countries pertained to this problem.

“The Asian cricket Council (ACC) and the Indians are trying to find a solution because under International cricket Council regulations, bilateral tours take precedence over everything else,” the official said.

Interestingly, when the ACC finalised the Asia Cup schedule and awarded the event to Bangladesh, bilateral ties between Pakistan and India were suspended by the Indian board on apparent instructions of its Government.

But after the 2011 World Cup semi-final in Mohali and the visit of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani for the match on the invitation of his Indian counterpart, the diplomatic and political scenario between the two nations has improved a bit.

“The problem is that both Pakistan and India have a packed international calendar for the next eight months and there are also instances where when Pakistan is free India is busy or when India is free Pakistan team is scheduled to play matches,” the official said.

He added that any suggestion on part of the PCB to the BCCI to split or share earnings of the series in India could only be discussed once the schedule was finalised.

“That is why any meaningful talks will only begin on such issues next month and after the Indian board sorts out the time slot and dates issues,” he said.

The PCB official conceded that Pakistan was keen for the bilateral series to resume and wanted to tour India and was also willing to play the Indians at any neutral venue.

India have not played any bilateral cricket match with Pakistan since late 2007 and cancelled a full tour to Pakistan in early 2009 in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks.

London: With the series already in their kitty and the No.1 Test crown on their head, England have established their supremacy over a helpless Indian side. What is now left is a mere formality for the Englishmen if they manage a complete 4-0 whitewash, with a win in the final Test. The Indians failed miserably in their last encounter, add to it Sehwag’s first-ball dismissals and an ineffective bowling attack that could not stop the rage of English batsmen.

It is the first time since November 2004 that India is going to play for pride in a Test series.

England won the toss and elected to bat first. The Poms are unchanged from their last game and that means James Anderson is fit to play. India had a forced changed with RP Singh coming in to replace injured Praveen Kumar, who happened to be India’s leading wicket-taker. Big blow that.

It was a perfect start for England. The toss went their way, good decision to bat and no wickets lost in the opening session. Can’t ask for more. The overcast conditions were the only help for the Indian bowlers, but the spice in the attack was missing again. The tracks looked very good and it promised to be a long day in the field for the  visitors.

Bad news as we get underway for the afternoon session. It started drizzling and the major part of the ground was covered.

The rain continued to fall in south London and there were no signs of play.

Persistent rain forced the Umpires to call it a day. Play was officially abandoned. England did well and they will be happy with their effort.

Match Summary

First Innings:  ENG 75/0 (26) (A Strauss 38 & I Sharma 0-17)

Islamabad: Shahid Afridi could be in big trouble with the PCB after stating that Pakistan President, Asif Zardari, should step in to prevent the game from becoming a “joke”.

Speaking on ‘Geo Super channel’ in a talk show, the flamboyant all-rounder claimed that if he has been declared an incompetent captain by the Pakistan Cricket Board then chairman Ijaz Butt should also step down from his position.

“It was Ijaz Butt who appointed me as captain for nearly a year and a half and if now it is said that I am not good enough and not capable of leading the team then the chairman is equally responsible for this mistake and should also step down,” Afridi said.

He appealed to the chief patron of the PCB, President Zardari, to intervene.

“I would appeal to President Zardari to take note of what is happening in cricket and stop the joke being done with it,” Afridi said.

Afridi had some strong words to say about his reported dispute with head coach Waqar Younis.

“If they are saying I was responsible for the defeats in the last two one-dayers in the West Indies then that is not true. Because I didn’t select the teams, they were selected by Waqar and manager Intikhab Alam,” the former captain said.

“I thought I was a hero after our World Cup performance but they quickly turned me to a zero,” he said.

Nairobi: Kenya and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will meet in the first round of ICC Intercontinental Cup on 28 July 2011 in Nairobi.

Kenya’s new captain Collins Obuya will be leading a new-look side for the Africans for this tournament with a number of new faces mixed with some old-hands.

UAE will be making a return to the competition, having last year competed in and reached the final of the ICC Intercontinental Shield, and Khurram Khan’s men will want a strong start to its new campaign.

Captain Obuya said: “It has been a while since we played UAE but they have a very experienced side in comparison to our younger, newer squad.

The UAE side has some familiar faces to Associate cricket in the form of bowler Nasir Aziz while Saqib Ali leads a strong batting line-up along with the likes of captain Khurram Khan.

Khan said: “Having played quite a lot of 20-over cricket in the past months we have now turned our attention to the longer format and have been working hard ahead of this first I Cup fixture.

“Everyone in the side is very happy, we’ve had some good performances in the recent times but we need to do better in the format and we’re definitely looking forward to returning to playing with the red ball.”

Kenya squad: Collins Obuya (captain); Rakep Patel; Tanmay Mishra; Runish Gudka; Hiren Varaiya; Lucas Oluoch; Dominic Wesonga; Karen Kaul; Amit Shukla; Rajesh Bhudia; Rajesh Varsani; Ramesh Mepani; Mansukh Jesani (wicket keeper); Samarth Patel

UAE squad: Khurram Khan (captain); Mohammed Touqir; Arshad Ali; Saqib Ali; Abdul Rehman; Ahmed Raza; Amjad Javed; Shadeep Silva; Amjad Ali; Shaiman Anwar; Nasir Aziz; Shoaib Sarwar; Wasim Bari; Palekar Hamid.

Lords: James Anderson bowled England to a memorable victory over India in the historic 2,000th Test, on a day when he also ended Sachin Tendulkar’s Lord’s dream.

A Test match dominated by England and eventually, they take the game and the lead in the series heading to Nottingham. The 2000th Test match lived upto the expectation, ending in the final session of day 5. An impressive performance by the Poms and congratulations to Strauss and his men. Though, India are known to be slow starters and they will look to do better at Trent Bridge.

Pietersen rocked the visitors in the first innings with his double hundred while India were blown away in the second innings by some fantastic seam bowling. Dravid’s knock went in vain.

It still looked India might take it to a draw but Anderson made all the difference on this final day of the match. Anderson ensured they saw a 196-run home win, returning five for 65 and accounting for all three of the India’s star batsmen in a total of 261 all out.

The injury to Zaheer didn’t help the No.1 side while Tendulkar and Gambhir were battling through pain. No excuses, but India have a lot of work to do in the series. Three matches to go.

Andrew Strauss credits the win to his side’s all-round performance. Few players did exceptionally well. MS Dhoni considered the injuries as the main reason for their loss. Zaheer was a big blow but the other bowlers still did well.

Match Summary

First Innings: ENG 474/8(131.4) Dec. (K.Pietersen 202 & P Kumar 5-106)

First Innings: IND 286/10(95.5) (R Dravid 103 & S Broad 4-37)

Second Innings: ENG 269/6(71) Dec. (M Prior 103 & I Sharma 4-59)

Second Innings: IND 261/10(96.3) (S raina 68 & J Anderson 5-65)

Man of the Match: Kevin Pietersen

England win the first Test at Lord’s by 196 runs.

Lords: Former England captain Nasser Hussain says Dhoni’s men don’t seem to value their number one status given how under-prepared they looked in the Lord’s Test.

“I am so pleased that England won because they set the perfect template on how you should prepare for and then perform in a very important game of Test cricket,” Hussain wrote in the Daily Mail.

“India was exactly the opposite. They just turned up with totally poor preparation and expected everything to be alright on the night.

Hussain said England has had the best possible preparation for the series and it is now showing in their performance.

“Everything that England has done this summer has been geared towards making sure their players are as ready as possible for this Test series, including Andrew Strauss playing at Taunton and Stuart Broad playing for Notts,” he said.

“In contrast, India expected their top strike bowler in Zaheer Khan and their premier batsman in Sachin Tendulkar to rock up without playing a Test since January. They did not help themselves,” he added.

Hussain said the English team is in such fine form that India were perhaps not ready for them.

“India simply was not ready for them in this game. India have real issues. Zaheer is injured, quite probably because his body was not right for this game, and it is difficult to see how he can play in the second Test,” he said.

“After that match India just have a two-day game at Northants to get ready for the third Test, when they will again have little opportunity to get themselves right for the second half of the series. What’s going on with them?” he asked.

Hussain also criticized the Indian Cricket Board’s insistence on not having the LBWs covered under the Decision Review System.

Lords: England had suffered on the fourth morning, from 54/1 to 62/5 as Ishant Sharma bowled a match-changing spell.

But Prior performed a crucial inning, scoring a careful 103 not out to steer his side to 269/6 declared alongside Stuart Broad (74 not out).

India response of 80/1 left them a huge 378 away from victory.

“India’s batting line-up is pretty strong and the ball might not be swinging around and seaming around like the first innings,” Prior said.

“Graeme Swann’s going to play a huge part for us and there is a lot of hard work ahead.”

Prior admitted he had been taken a back by England’s own collapse but, with six Test centuries to his name and 71 in the first innings, the wicketkeeper is fast becoming a reliable performer in all situations.

“I wasn’t really expecting to be batting before lunch. I was looking at the menu and thinking ‘I’ll have the rack of lamb, that’ll be nice’ and then there I was taking guard,” he said.

“The first thing was to try and build a partnership, settle everything down because the crowd was noisy, the Indian fielders were up for it and Ishant was bowling very well.

India are hoping fitness problems do not hamper on day 5, with concerns over three players.

Gautam Gambhir could not open the batting on the fourth day but should be fit to bat after a blow to the elbow while fielding, Zaheer Khan (hamstring) may be forced to bat with a runner and Sachin Tendulkar missed two sessions in the field with a viral infection.

The ‘Little Master’, of course, still has an outside chance of bringing up his hundredth international century at the home of cricket, but rules dictate after his absence on Sunday, he faces a wait before being allowed to bat.

Match Summary

First Innings: ENG 478/8 (131.1 overs, Dec,K Pietersen 202, P Kumar 5-106)

First Innings: IND 286/10 (95.5 overs,  R Dravid 103, S Broad 4-37)

2nd Innings: ENG 269/6 (71 overs Dec, M Prior 103, I Sharma 4-59)

2nd Innings: IND 164/6 (64 overs, VVS Laxman 56, J Anderson 44-2)

IND needs 294 run(s) in 61 overs(s)

India vs England 1st Test, Day 1

Lords: Jonathan Trott struck his seventh Test half-century before rain brought a premature end to day one of the first Test between England and India at Lords.

Playing in his first Test match against the world-number-one-ranked nation, Trott rode his luck when presenting Rahul Dravid with two chances at slip and made the tourists pay by steering England to 127-2. An early tea was taken with Trott unbeaten on 58 and Kevin Pietersen not out at 22. However, dark clouds surrounded Lords and persistent rain meant no further play was possible.

India won the toss and opted to bowl, and started the day really well by dismissing openers Alastair Cook (12) and Andrew Strauss (22) either side of lunch. They will now be sweating on the man who dismissed both, Zaheer Khan, after he hobbled off the field with an apparent hamstring injury midway through his 14th over.

England reached lunch on 43-1 and, just as it appeared as though batting conditions were improving, Strauss undid 25 overs of watchful work by looking to pull a Zaheer bouncer from outside off stump. He was hurried for pace and top-edged it low on the bat, giving Ishant Sharma a simple catch at fine leg.

Pietersen endured a nervy start, taking 14 balls to get off the mark and looking ill at ease as Sharma tightened up his line.

Trott’s 50 came up off 89 balls before dark skies and heavy drizzle took the teams off early.

Match Summary

ENG: First Innings;127/2 in 49.2 overs ( J Trott 58, Z Khan 2-18)

Lords: This Test match is undoubtedly a milestonic one. The history of cricket will witness the 2000th game overall while India and England will lock horns in what is the 100th Test match amongst the two sides. Eyes all over the world will be glued to this contest.

As predicted, the rain made its presence felt and we had a delayed start at Lord’s. The Umpires had an inspection at 1050 local time. This Test match (2000th overall and 100th between England and India) is the talk of the town at the moment. Undoubtedly, the first Test match of the series is equivalent to the build-up that it has created so far. The home of cricket, Lord’s in London will witness this epic encounter and the biggest question arising right now is; will Sachin Tendulkar make it even more special by scoring his 100th international ton.

India won the toss and elected to field first.

India are playing Praveen Kumar and Suresh Raina. Yuvraj Singh stays the 12th man while Sreesanth misses out. England have opted for Stuart Broad, ahead of Tim Bresnan.