The New World Record and Fast century for South Africa Player in Twenty20 International

South Africa in New Zealand T20I Series and 2nd T20

Toss South Africa chose to field

T20I debut M de Lange (South Africa)

New Zealand 173/4 in 20 over

Guptill 47 and Botha 1-22

Target: 174 runs from 20 overs

South Africa 174/2 for 16 overs

South Africa won by 8 wickets (with 24 balls remaining)

Richard Levi 117 runs and Not Out for 51 balls, 5 fours, 13 sixes

Three match series level 1-1

Man of the Match RE Levi (South Africa)

Richard Levi broke Chris Gayle's record for the most sixes in a Twenty20 international innings.

The final match of the Twenty20 series is on Wednesday at Eden Park in Auckland.

Martin Guptill Fire New Zealand Winning Start

South Africa in New Zealand T20 Series and 1st T20

Toss New Zealand chose to field

T20 debut RE Levi (South Africa)

South Africa 147/6 for 20 over

Duminy 41, Southee 3-28

Target: 148 runs from 20 overs

New Zealand 148/4 for 19.2 over

Martin Guptill 78 runs not out for 55 ball, 5 four, 4 six,

New Zealand won by 6 wickets (with 4 balls remaining)

Series New Zealand led the 3-match series 1-0

Man of the match MJ Guptill (New Zealand)

First Twenty20 in Auckland

New Zealand v Zimbabwe, 1st Twenty20, Auckland Feb 11, 2012

Time (19:00 local | 06:00 GMT | 11:30 IST)

New Zealand player colin de Grandhomme could debut option and the Zimbabwe are an inexperienced and unsuccessful Twenty20 side and the Pitch and conditions for a fair strip, offering plenty for the batsmen is likely to be prepared and the weather in Auckland on Saturday evening should be clear and mild.

New Zealand squad:

MD Bates, DAJ Bracewell, C de Grandhomme, AM Ellis, JEC Franklin, MJ Guptill, RM Hira, BB McCullum, NL McCullum, KD Mills, RJ Nicol, JDP Oram, TG Southee, KS Williamson

Zimbabwe squad:

RW Chakabva, E Chigumbura, AG Cremer, KM Jarvis, SW Masakadza, S Matsikenyeri, TMK Mawoyo, KO Meth, F Mutizwa, RW Price, T Taibu, BRM Taylor, P Utseya, BV Vitori, MN Waller

Session Fifth IPL Comeback for Sreesanth

A Kerala pacer still recuperating from a toe injury at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore in all about time and then finally being able to play cricket.

"I have never thought about how others have performed. I love playing the game. If I was thinking like that I wouldn't have played at all," Sreesanth told HT as he patiently doled out autographs to trainees of a cricket academy in bangalore.

A day after the fast bowler was sold to Rajasthan Royals at his base price of $400,000, Sreesanth said he could not worry about what happened to Kochi Tuskers Kerala after a turbulent year in the IPL. "Honestly, I can't think about that right now.

I think I need at least 6-8 weeks to get fully fit," said the 28-year-old who turns 29 on Monday in the IPL starts on April 4

Umpires, administrators too fix matches: Lalit Modi

Former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi on Tuesday accused umpires and administrators of the game of being involved in match-fixing, shortly after a London court found banned Pakistan Test captain Salman Butt and pacer Mohammad Asif guilty in the spot-fixing scandal.

"It's not only players that fix matches - Sometimes there are Umpires too in connivance with Administrators. Again.. these reports are buried," Modi wrote in his twitter page.

A 12-member jury found Butt, 27, guilty of conspiracy to accept corrupt payments and conspiracy to cheat, while Asif, 28, was convicted of charge of conspiracy to cheat in one of the biggest scandals that rocked cricket last year.

"It is worst form of corruption. It makes everything else look Pale.

"People remotely assisting - match / Spot Fixing or People Preventing the information from coming out are equally to blame for this menace," Modi tweeted.

He advocated severe punishments for those found guilty in fixing matches.

"Persons involved in fixing should be completely banned from participating any kind of professional sport.

"Cricket authorities must have a zero tolerance for spot- fixing. Problem is that quantum of betting has jumped - with no checks and reporting."

The scandal goes back to August last year when the duo conspired with alleged bookie Mazhar Majeed and teen pace sensation Mohammad Aamer to deliver three no-balls during the Lord's Test.

While Aamer had reportedly pleaded guilty to the charge Butt and Asif pleaded not guilty.

Dhoni given an honorary doctorate

Indian Cricket Captain MS Dhoni was awarded an honorary doctorate by De Montfort University after the conclusion of a Twenty20 cricket practice match against Leicestershire at Grace Road.

MS Dhoni was praised for his exemplary leadership quality and achievements at a ceremony here.

Dhoni has achieved many milestones as skipper of the Indian Team. His first major achievement was captaining the Indian team to victory in the Twenty20 World Cup 2007. He also captained the Indian side to victory the 2007-08 CB tri-series played in Australia. However, his crowning glory was helping India win the World Cup in 2011 after a gap of 28 years.

He holds the record for the most number of catches in an innings and the longest unbeaten run as a skipper. He also holds the award for the fastest century scored by an Indian wicket keeper. In 2008 and 2009, Dhoni was also named the ICC's ODI Cricket player of the year.

"I am amazed and honoured to receive this award. I see this award as an honour not only for me as the captain of the Indian cricket team but for the whole team to be proud of," Captain Dhoni said.

Dhoni is currently captaining the Indian team, which has been whitewashed 0-4 in the just-concluded Test series by England. Dhoni and his men will be hoping that they bounce back in the remainder of the tour. India play a T20 match against England on Wednesday followed by five ODIs.

No Indian Cricketers in the SLPL: BCCI

The BCCI has refused to give permission to the Indian players to take part in the Sri Lankan Premier League as the event is being organized by a "private party" based in Singapore instead of the Sri Lankan Cricket Board.

"We took the decision at an informal meeting of 18-20 members that no Indian cricket player will be given permission to take part in the league as it is being organized by a private party based in Singapore. The Board's policy is not to allow cricketers to take part in private party-organized tournaments," BCCI president Shashank Manohar told PTI from Nagpur.

Manohar said unless the Board gives them a No Objection Certificate, Indian players cannot participate in the Lankan Twenty20 league.

"We have to give them permission and we have decided not to give it. We have already informed Sri Lanka Cricket board about it," he elaborated.

Afridi may be allowed to play in national Twenty20 event

The Pakistan Cricket Board will not stop suspended all-rounder Shahid Afridi from taking part in the national T20 championship, scheduled to be held in Faisalabad from June 24.

A well-placed source in the board said that as of now far it has been decided to allow Afridi to guide the Karachi Dolphins side in the tournament despite the ongoing disciplinary process against him.

"Since it is a domestic tournament and the matter between him and the board is now in court it is felt it is better he is allowed to captain the Karachi side in the event," a source said.

The Karachi City Cricket Association has also written to the board, seeking written clearance to allow Afridi to lead their team in the tournament.

Twelve Indian Players in SL T20 league

As many as twelve Indian cricketers, including Munaf Patel and Ravichandran Ashwin, are expected to feature in the 1st edition of the Sri Lankan Premier League 2011.

According to a report in 'islandcricket.com', Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has secured the services of several famous overseas cricketers, including Chris Gayle and Kieron Pollard, who are currently engaged in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Apart from Gayle, whose blistering strokeplay has put the Royal Challengers Bangalore at the top of the points table in the fourth edition of the IPL, SLPL is also expected to feature Daniel Vettori, whose IPL journey was cut short after a recurring knee injury.

Among the Indian players on the SLPL radar, the inclusion of Patel and Ashwin besides Praveen Kumar, who was recently selected for the West Indies tour after missing the ICC World Cup due to an elbow injury, comes as a surprise as the trio is likely to be on national duty during that period.

India is scheduled to visit England during the month of July for a four-match Test series followed by a one-day tournament and a one-off Twenty20 match.

The other Indian players who figure in the list posted by the website include Dinesh Karthik, Irfan Pathan, Manish Pandey, Manoj Tiwary, Paul Valthaty, Ravindra Jadeja, Saurabh Tiwary, Umesh Yadav and Vinay Kumar.

KKR's loss is advantage for RCB: Zaheer khan

RCB Fast bowler Zaheer Khan on Thursday said KKR's loss in their last match would be an "advantage" for his team when two sides clash in an IPL match here on Friday.

After winning against Kochi Tuskers Kerala(KTK), the Bangalore outfit suffered 3 consecutive losses and lies 9th in the IPL standings.

"I feel the table is open. You have seen big teams losing to teams that we have never thought of. KKR lost their last game which is going to be an advantage for us. If we beat them tomorrow it will be really good for us to go forward," Zaheer said.

"We all know that few games have not gone our way. But we are confident, we have worked hard in the nets. Once you get the momentum, it's about capitalising on that."

"It's just few fine tuning that's needed as far as game our game is concerned. We need some wins under our belt. Gayle's inclusion will definitely add positivity to the environment."

Zaheer said Bangalore have worked hard on their fielding and the players were looking to get into the winning mode.

"In the last few practice sessions, we have done good work. Everyone is up for it. Everyone in the side wants to get into the winning run as soon as possible. That's a good sign."

Asked about the hectic schedule after the World Cup 2011, Zaheer said: "IPL is about 20 overs. It's not hard to keep intensity up for 20 overs.

"With our World Cup success, we are all excited and it feels something special. We are now back and doing what we do best."

Zaheer said he was looking forward to giving his side a couple of early wickets.

SA won by 6 wickets against Pakistan in the first T20

Fast bowler Lonwabo Tsotsobe and off-spinner Johan Botha took three wickets apiece to help South Africa beat Pakistan by six wickets in the first of two Twenty20 matches on Tuesday.

Tsotsobe, with a career-best 3-16, and skipper Botha (3-31) led a spirited South African bowling to restrict Pakistan to a paltry 119 at the Abu Dhabi Stadium in a match whose income will go to flood victims in Pakistan. Over two million people were displaced in the worst-ever floods in Pakistan.

Jean-Paul Duminy hit an elegant 41 while Colin Ingram remained unbeaten with 46 as South Africa reached the target after losing three early wickets for 26. The two left-handers shared a solid 66-run partnership for the fourth wicket after Faster Shoaib Akhtar gave Pakistan some hope with the quick wickets of opener Loots Bosman and AB de Villiers in the 3rd over.

Ingram hit two towering sixes and four boundaries during his 38-ball knock. Duminy hit five boundaries as the two dominated the Pakistan bowling which initially looked threatening. Botha said he was happy to lead the series. "It was a clinical performance and I am happy at the way the young guns stepped in after we lost three early wickets especially Ingram and Duminy," said Botha. Duminy, who also took two beautiful catches, was declared man-of-the-match.

Earlier, Tsotsobe and off-spinner Botha bowled tightly to derail Pakistan, who won the toss and batted on a flat pitch.

Misbah-ul-Haq, recalled after being axed following the World Twenty20 in May this year, top-scored with 27 with a six and two boundaries. Captain Shahid Afridi hit a rapid seven-ball 25 before he became one of Botha's three victims. Pakistan had raced to 16 in the second over before Tsotsobe removed openers Imran Farhat (10) and Shahzaib Hasan (nine) in the sixth.

Botha then removed Mohammad Hafeez (13), Afridi and Abdul Razzaq (four) to end Pakistan's hopes of reaching a respectable total. Pakistan coach Waqar Younis was disappointed over the poor batting. "We scored 25-30 runs less than we expected," said Waqar, whose team lost the last six wickets for a mere 35 runs. We need to bat with strategy in the next game."

This is Pakistan's home series shifted to United Arab Emirates due to security fears. The two teams meet in the second Twenty20 on Wednesday.

They then play the first two one-day internationals and the second Test in Abu Dhabi. Dubai will stage the last three one-day and the first Test.

Sunil Gavaskar removed from IPL Governing Council

In a main overhaul of the Indian Premier League, the BCCI dropped cricket Master Sunil Gavaskar from the IPL Governing Council, which was reduced to a 7-member panel with tenure of just one year instead of five.

The decision to drop SunilGavaskar from the IPL Governing Council was taken by the Cricket Board in its Annual General Meeting (AGM), which also appointed temporary chairman Chirayu Amin as full-time chief of the T20 league.

"The IPL Governing Council constitution was changed today at the AGM. The period of the Governing Council, which is a sub-committee, of the Board has been reduced to one year from five years," BCCI president Shashank Manohar told reporters at a press conference after the Annual General Meeting.

"It will have five members and two cricketers will be part of the committee. Earlier, cricketers were used to be paid Rs 1 crore but BCCI decided no payment will be made from now onwards," he said.

LG ICC Awards 2010 short-list

Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag of India, Hashim Amla of South Africa and Graeme Swann of England have all been short-listed for the LG ICC Awards 2010.

The votes have now been shine by the independent 25-person academy and these four men are the ones in the running to get the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for Cricketer of the Year at a glittering ceremony in Bengaluru on 6 October 2010.

Short-lists of nominees:

Cricketer of the Year: Hashim Amla (SA), Virender Sehwag (Ind), Graeme Swann (Eng), Sachin Tendulkar (Ind)

Test Player of the Year: Hashim Amla (SA), Virender Sehwag (Ind), Dale Steyn (SA), Sachin Tendulkar (Ind)

ODI Player of the Year: Ryan Harris (Aus), Sachin Tendulkar (Ind), AB de Villiers (SA), Shane Watson (Aus)

Emerging Player: Umar Akmal (Pak), Steven Finn (Eng), Angelo Matthews (SL), Tim Paine (Aus)

Associate and Affiliate Player of the Year: Ryan ten Doeschate (Ned), Trent Johnson (Ire), Kevin O'Brien (Ire), Mohammed Shahzad (Afg)

T20 International Performance of the Year: Michael Hussey (Aus); Mahela Jayawardena (SL); Ryan McLaren (SA); Brendon McCullum (NZ).

Women's Cricketer of the Year: Katherine Brunt (Eng), Shelley Nitschke (Aus), Ellyse Perry (Aus), Stafanie Taylor (WI)

Umpire of the Year: Aleem Dar, Steve Davis, Tony Hill, Simon Taufel

Spirit of Cricket: India, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe

Some betting patterns were very suspicious at IPL 2

29 players, including two Australia players are suspected to be involved in match fixing in IPL2 in South Africa, the top London newspaper claimed. According to a underground dossier compiled by the ICC's anti-corruption and security unit, the list includes some high-profile names but no one from England or Pakistan, whose players did not take part due to security issues, The Sunday Times claimed.

"Some betting patterns were very suspicious at IPL 2," the report said quoting a source. Despite long-standing concerns about the honor of the IPL, whose commissioner Lalit Modi is suspended amid sleaze allegations, England players are expected to be available for the entirety of next year's IPL for the 1st time.

Three Pakistan players Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were suspended by the ICC for their suspected involvement in match-fixing in the Lord's Test and the trio returned to Pakistan recently.

Sachin's form may help us win CL T20: JP Duminy

Skipper Sachin Tendulkar has mysterious ability to inspire his team-mates to perform several notches up and that will make a massive impact on Mumbai Indians' campaign in next month's Champions League T20 in South Africa, feels batsman Jean-Pual Duminy.

Duminy believes that if Sachin Tendulkar continues with his menacing form of this year's IPL, MI will go all the way through.

"He (Sachin) clearly leads from the front and that lifts his team-mates. He is very inspiring and exceptional skipper. If he fires, others also perform better by another 20 per cent.

"He has been in fine form in the IPL and for India. Hope he does the same for us to win this tournament," Duminy told PTI on the sidelines of the launch of Champions League Twenty20 here.

"Sachin helps everybody out and he tries to engage every player. I get along with him very well and had discussions on batting and other cricketing things," said the 26-year-old batsman, who was the inaugural CLT20's top scorer for Cape Cobras but will play for Mumbai Indians this time.

India tour not idyllic for Ashes preparation: Ponting

Australia captain Ricky Ponting fears that his country's forthcoming tour of India in October may obstruct their preparation for the Ashes series commencing in November 25 at Brisbane.

Ricky Ponting said that preferably, Australia should not play on dry and flat Indian pitches in the run-up to the Ashes series against arch-rivals England at home.

"If you were trying to sit down and map out your perfect preparation for an Ashes series or a home series it probably wouldn't be playing two Test matches in India," said Ponting.

"But you don't live in an ideal world. That's the way international cricket is these days," Ponting was quoted as saying by 'The Australian'.

Australia play two Tests followed by three one-day Matches during their India tour.

Talking about Australia's three-wicket defeat against Pakistan in the 2nd Test at Leeds, Ponting admitted that he had misjudged the batting situation after winning the toss.

"We were definitely playing catch-up from stumps day one. That's my responsibility, to get those sorts of things right and make those decisions," Ponting said.

Australia were bowled out by Pakistan for just 88 - their lowest total in 26 years - on the first day of the 2nd Test at Headingley, in a Test that also ended Pakistan's 15-year wait for a win over Australia.