Kieswetter impresses but still no place

Paul Collingwood admits Craig Kieswetter did everything right on his first day as an England-qualified player but has no intention of parachuting him in to the Twenty20 side to face Pakistan today.

Johannesburg-born Kieswetter, whose four-year residency came up on Wednesday, celebrated by clubbing an eye-catching 81 off 66 balls as the Lions upset their senior colleagues by five wickets in a warm-up match in Abu Dhabi.

Captain Collingwood was suitably impressed by the Somerset wicketkeeper-batsman but made it clear he would not be added to the existing squad for the Pakistan double header.

“We’ve pretty much got the side set in our minds and we’ve got a squad that is here that we’ll choose from,” he said.

“All the guys (on Wednesday) had a certain pressure to perform well and he (Kieswetter) certainly did that but there is no temptation to bring him in for the game with Pakistan.

“We will have to be at the top of our game to beat them but we believe we’ve got the skills and the players here.”

The current opening partnership of choice is Joe Denly and Jonathan Trott and Collingwood vowed the pair would be given a chance to forge an understanding ahead of the World Twenty20 in the Caribbean at the end of April.

He added: “We’ve chopped and changed around a lot at the top of the order in the past but we believe we’ve got two guys who can score runs quickly.”

Harbhajan Singh claimed five wickets as India sealed a dramatic innings and 57-run victory on the final day of the second Test against South Africa at the Eden Gardens to draw the series 1-1 and retain their place at the top of the ICC rankings.

India suffered another blow before play resumed as strike bowler Zaheer Khan was forced to sit out the final three sessions due to a leg muscle strain.

India, starting the day needing seven more wickets for victory, chipped away steadily at South Africa’s line-up, but Hashim Amla provided another twist in a match that ebbed and flowed with a brilliant, unbeaten 123.

Amla then raised hopes of a draw for South Africa with a final wicket stand with Morne Morkel (12) that spanned more than 20 overs. Even Sachin Tendulkar twirled his arm without success.

But Harbhajan eventually trapped Morkel in front to finish with 5-59.