Fixtures and Squad: Australia tour of South Africa 2011

The much awaited competition is about to start. Both teams have included some young force to strengthen their strategies. Brett Lee, the Australia fast bowler, has been ruled out of the South Africa tour due to appendicitis. He will undergo surgery in Cape Town.

Tour will start on 13th October and will end in the last week of November. They will face 2 T-20s, 3 ODIs and 2 Test Matches. 

Hashim Amla has been confirmed as stand-in captain for the injured AB de Villiers, while Mark Boucher has been recalled as wicket-keeper for the one-day internationals. David Miller is also recalled to the ODI squad, while Jacques Kallis and Dale Steyn have been rested from the Twenty20 matches.

Big-hitting Cape Cobras batsman Richard Levi is the only new face in either squad, having been named in T20 party. The 23 year-old has scored 593 runs in the shortest form of the game at an average of 28 and a strike rate of over 135.

South Africa's Twenty20 Squad:  

Hashim Amla (captain), Graeme Smith, JP Duminy, Colin Ingram, Richard Levi, David Miller, Albie Morkel, Robin Peterson, Johan Botha, Heino Kuhn, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Rusty Theron, Lonwabo Tsotsobe.

South Africa's ODI Squad: 

 Hashim Amla (captain), Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, David Miller, Johan Botha, Imran Tahir, Robin Peterson, Mark Boucher, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Dale Steyn, Lonwabo Tsotsobe.

On the other hand, Experienced Australian left-arm fast bowler Mitchell Johnson has been left out of the national T20 squad for the upcoming tour of South Africa, while Victorian batsman David Hussey loses his spot in the One-day lineup.

Young fast bowlers Patrick Cummins and James Pattinson have won selection in both squads, while rising all-rounder Mitchell Marsh claimed a berth in the T20 lineup.
  

Australian Twenty20 Squad: 

Cameron White (c), Shane Watson (vc), Doug Bollinger, Patrick Cummins, Aaron Finch, David Hussey, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Stephen O’Keefe, James Pattinson, Steven Smith, Matthew Wade, David Warner

Australia's ODI Squad:

Michael Clarke (c), Shane Watson (vc), Doug Bollinger, Patrick Cummins, Xavier Doherty, Brad Haddin, Mike Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Shaun Marsh, James Pattinson, Ricky Ponting, Steven Smith, David Warner 

Tour Schedule

13th October: 1st T20I, Cape Town

16th October: 2nd T20I, Johannesburg

19th October: 1st ODI, Centurion Park

23rd October: 2nd ODI, Port Elizabeth

28th October: 3rd ODI, Durban

9th-13th November: 1st Test, Cape Town

17th-21st November: 2nd Test, Johannesburg

India Red enter final with 2nd win in a row

India Red enter NKP Salve Trophy final with 2nd win in a row. Putting up a dominating all-round show, India Red stormed into the final of the NKP Salve Challenger Series after thrashing India Green by eight wickets in the rain-hit second match of the tournament here today. 

It was second win for India Red in as many days as they had defeated India Blue in the series-opener yesterday.

The Gautam Gambhir-led India Red side dismissed India Green for a paltry 170 in only 37.5 overs after opting to field and then easily overhauled the revised target of 152 with 78 balls to spare.

India Red were given 42 overs to achieve the target. Part timer Yusuf Pathan was the pick of the bowlers for India Red, grabbing four for 25 in only 7.5 overs.

While chasing, Gambhir led from front with a 53-ball 57 as he laid the platform for easy win by putting on 100 runs for the first wicket along with Abhinav Mukund (61).

Gambhir was dropped by Mohammed Kaif off paceman Abhimanyu Mithun when he was on just 14 and India Green had to pay for the mistake.

Kaif, who is a reliable fielder, knew what blunder he had committed as Gambir smashed Harbhajan for a six and a four in the next over and continued to find boundaries during his stay at the wicket.

India Red were 45 for no loss in eight overs when skies opend up and stopped play. On resumption, Mithun finally got Gambhir when he lofted one straight to Ishwar Chaudhary at mid-off.

Gambhir's knock was studded with six fours and a six and Mukund also hit as many boundaries and took 70 balls for his innings before being caught and bowled by Chaudhary. Ambati Rayudu (16) and Yusuf Pathan (7) steered the side home without any hiccup. 

India Red will take on the winner of tomorrow's match between India-Green and India-Blue in Thursday's final.