Jamaica: India’s vice-captain Harbhajan Singh is confident that the Indian side will sign off the series on a winning note in the fifth ODI on Thursday.

The loss in the fourth ODI in Antigua on Monday will have no impact on the outcome of the series as India had already pocketed an unassailable 3-1 lead but Harbhajan said a 4-1 series win is what they are eyeing.

“If we keep it simple and stick to the basics, we will get the right results, and that would be nice so we can finish the series on a good note and take a 4-1 victory,” said the off-spinner. “We are looking to give our best shot and win the last match.”

Harbhajan, who has taken four wickets and scored 47 runs in the series so far, said he always enjoy playing in the West Indies. “I have enjoyed every moment playing in the West Indies and this is probably the best place to play cricket. Here in Kingston is an exciting venue and I have played here in previous tours also.”

Following the conclusion of the ODIs, the three-match Test series between the two sides will begin at the Sabina Park here from June 20.

Pakistan: The Pakistan Cricket Board and former captain Shahid Afridi appeared on course on Tuesday for an out-of-court settlement after the suspended star met with the chairman.

Afridi had gone to court after the PCB punished him for allegedly breaching a code of conduct by announcing his retirement after he was dumped as one-day captain, and for leveling allegations against the board.

The board has now agreed to allow the sacked one-day captain to play for English county side Hampshire after he agreed to withdraw his case against the PCB in the Sindh High Court.

PCB confirmed that chairman Ijaz Butt and Afridi met in Islamabad. “At this stage the PCB will not make any further comments on the discussions that have been taking place,” their official said.

Afridi’s manager Umran Khan also confirmed that the meeting went very well and both parties had come to a friendly agreement to end the dispute between them.

He added that he had spoken to Hampshire manager, Giles White and “they’re very pleased that it’s all sorted out”.

The PCB will not make any further comment on the discussion at this stage.

Antigua: The West Indies crushed India by 103 runs to earn a consolation victory in the ongoing ODI series.

West Indies again found themselves with a below par score on a wicket that seemed good to bat on. Lendl Simmons and Kieron Pollard were the mainstays of the Windies total of 249/8, and Simmons added 67 before Pollard striked 70 to lift them to a competitive mark.

India again bowled pretty well on a flat surface. Praveen Kumar bowled well and got three wickets. Playing the first game of the series, Sharma and Ashwin picked one wicket each.

India, who went into the game with an undeniable 3-0 series lead, folded for 146 in reply as Anthony Martin took 4/36 and Andre Russell 3/16.

Chasing a total of 250, India did not start well and lost opener Tiway very early. Badri struggled against the short ball thrown at him and he too departed with Kohli and Raina following. The lower middle order too collapsed.

Over all a clinical performance by the home side, a bit late in the series though. India will be disappointed.

Match Summary

West Indies 249/8 (K Pollard 70, P Kumar 37/3) beat India 146/10 (R Sharma 39, A Martin 36/4) by 103 runs.

Man of the Match: Anthony Martin

St John’s: West Indies have announced their squad for the 3^rd ODI against India and have given Dwayne Bravo the permission to rest by leaving him out of the team. Chris Gayle again misses out. India have a 2-0 lead and look set to clinch the five-match series on Saturday.

WICB, after alleging that Chris Gayle was cold-shouldered by the Board during a recent injury crisis, is yet to meet officials and sort out his differences.

Bravo has yet to recover his form, following the knee injury, and his replacement, Jamaica allrounder Danza Hyatt, could make his one-day debut in the third ODI at Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground.

Fast bowler Kemar Roach is also in to give Ravi Rampaul a break. Rampaul has been effective so far and it remains to be seen if Roach can recreate his own deadly magic.

Former captain Chris Gayle continues to be overlooked by the selectors until he meets with officials of the team and West Indies Board.

Squad: Darren Sammy (captain), Carlton Baugh, Devendra Bishoo, Darren Bravo, Kirk Edwards, Danza Hyatt, Anthony Martin, Kieron Pollard, Kemar Roach, Andre Russell, Marlon Samuels, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Lendl Simmons

Trinidad: India won the toss and decided to field first in their 2^nd ODI against West Indies yesterday, at Queen’s Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad.

Quite an interesting match it turned out to be, with the men in blue bowling brilliantly to restrict the Windies to a below par total.

West Indies initiated well with a fifty-run stand upfront, followed by a couple more partnerships above the 50-run mark, but the middle-order collapsed miserably and failed to capitalise on the start. The Batting Powerplay proved fatal for the Windies as they lost three quick wickets and managed to score just 20 runs during that period.

Indian bowling was top class, with Amit Mishra leading the pack by claiming four wickets, and he was well supported by Munaf and Pathan.

Commanding performance by team India to register a resounding win over the Windies. In a chase of 241, the Indian side suffered an early blow in the form of Dhawan’s wicket but Parthiv joined forces with Virat Kohli and together the duo knitted an 120-run stand, thereby completely closing the doors ofto a Windies’ comeback.

Due to rain, the target was reduced to 183 off 37 overs, of which 83 runs were needed off 90 balls, but it didn’t bother the visitors, much as they chased that down comfortably with 20 balls to spare.

Match Summary

India 183/3 3 (Kohli 81, A Martin 29/1) beat West Indies 240/ 9 (Sarwan 56, A Mishra 4-31) by seven wickets (D/L method)

Man of the Match: Virat Kohli

Sri Lanka vs England 2nd Test match Day 4

London: The start of day 4 at Lords was delayed due to rain. Lankans looked like they would probably get ahead of the English total, but good bowling by Steven Finn and Graeme Swann restricted them and  Sri Lanka ended up conceding a 7-run lead to England.

Tea was taken early at Lords, thanks to the rain. England had faced five overs until then and the start hadn’t been healthy as they lost the wicket of skipper Andrew Strauss early on for no score to Welegedara.

After the break, Cook and Trott stitched together a 117-run partnership. Herath did manage to get a breakthrough with the wicket of Trott but thereafter, Pietersen and Cook stayed steady.

The  day wasn’t great for either of the sides but looks like it’s going to be an intriguing final session. England have a lead of 156 runs and if they can set Lanka a target of 250 or more runs, it could be interesting to watch.

Match Summary:

ENG 486/10 (First innings; Matt Prior 126, Chanaka Welegedara 122/4)

SL 479/10 (First innings; T Dilshan 193, S Finn 101/3)

ENG 149/2 (Second innings; A Cook 61, R Herath 17/1) leads by 156 runs

Trinidad: Having failed to win the one-off T20 after a good start, West Indies now aim for a better show as they take on the new World Champions India in the first of a 5-match ODI series at Trinidad. India have taken a pretty inexperienced squad and Windies have made a couple of changes as well.

After electing to bat, West Indies managed to score 214/9 in their 50 overs. A slow start to the innings and a few wickets early on pushed the Windies on the back foot. Sarwan and Samuels put up a good stand. But after the two half centurions, it was a total collapse all the way to the end. Raina shuffled his bowlers around and kept the run rate under check. Bhajji scalped three wickets while Munaf, Raina and Kumar chipped in with two each.

Another disappointing result for the host. 214 was never going to be enough. India got there comfortably in the end. West Indies will need to start fresh again at the Queen’s Park Oval on Wednesday when the two sides meet for the second ODI.

Match Summary:

India 217/6 (R Sharma 68, Anthony Martin 39/2) beat  West Indies 214/9 (R Sarwan 56, H Singh 32/3) by 4 wickets

Sri Lanka vs England 2nd Test match Day 3

London: Sri Lanka started day 3 on 231/1, trailing by 255. Tillakaratne Dilshan stood tall on an unbeaten 127. He and Paranavitana saw off the early troublesome period and staged a massive 207-run opening stand. The skipper now becomes the 7th Sri Lankan to score a Test century at Lords.

Sri Lanka put up a good show yesterday while England seemed quite sloppy, with Steven Finn as the only wicket taker.  The English bowlers were just not exploiting the overcast conditions. The new ball managed to get the wicket of Sangakkara but apart from that, it was all Sri Lanka. 113 runs were scored off 28 overs.

After lunch, Lanka looked to carry on with their momentum. This play was good application by the Lankans after the Cardiff disaster.

Rain took over after lunch and the umpires decided to take an early tea break. Not much changed after the tea session, however, and play was eventually called off due to the incessant rains.

Match Summary:

ENG 486/10 (First innings, Matt Prior 126, Chanaka Welegedara 122/4)

SL 372/3 (First innings, Tillakaratne Dilshan 193, Steven Finn 84/2) trails by 114 runs.

Trinidad: If Day 3 of the India vs West Indies series was anything to go by, a strong Indian performance in the Casure up on top-ranked Australia in the 50-over version with a strong performance in the Caribbean. With Mahendra Singh Dhoni being rested for the ODIs, stand-in captain Suresh Raina will certainly be hoping for an improvement on his current position at 32 in the batting log.

Virat Kohli, in eighth position, is the highest-ranked India player in ODIs and in the absence of Gautam Gambhir (in 12th position), Virender Sehwag (in 13th) and Yuvraj Singh (in 17th), Kohli can put some more daylight between himself and his colleagues.With no Chris Gayle or Shivnarine Chanderpaul in the West Indies squad, at least for the first two matches of the series, the highest-ranked home batsman will be Ramnaresh Sarwan, in 38th place.

India also holds the advantage in the bowling. Experienced off-spinner Harbhajan Singh (17th position) is the highest-ranked bowler from either team in this series and the only one in the top 20.

Trinidad: Without key senior players, even a second-string India will be hard to stop for the struggling West Indies when the two sides meet in a T20 match today.

India are without seniors such as Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and their regular skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, but they can still turn the tables on the West Indians whom they have never beaten in a Twenty20 match before.

West Indies have two of the most economical medium-pacers in skipper Darren Sammy and Ravi Rampaul but the Oval pitch appears to have been made more for India’s taste.

India has three top spinners in Harbhajan Singh, R Ashwin and Amit Mishra to take advantage of the surface while West Indies have only young leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo who could do likewise.

India have twice faced West Indies in Twenty20 internationals, first during the 2009 Twenty20 World Championships, when they lost by seven wickets at Lords, and then  West Indies repeated the result in the second encounter, again during the Twenty20 World Cup.

Team Lineup

West Indies: Darren Sammy (capt), Christopher Barnewell, Devendra Bishoo, Darren Bravo, Andre Fletcher, Danza Hyatt, Ashley Nurse, Ravi Rampaul, Andre Russell, Marlon Samuels, Krishmar Santokie, Lendl Simmons

India: Suresh Raina (capt), Harbhajan Singh (vice-capt), S Badrinath, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Parthiv Patel, Yusuf Pathan, Wriddhiman Saha, Rohit Sharma, Manoj Tiwary, Vinay Kumar, Ishant Sharma, R Ashwin, Praveen Kumar, Amit Mishra, Munaf Patel