International enemies become IPL friends

Former foes, including Ricky Ponting and Sourav Ganguly, have become Indian Premier League team-mates and publicly patched up their differences. Ponting and Ganguly played small parts in Kolkata's 140-run thrashing of Bangalore and set out to work together on the field.

"We've always got on really well right throughout our careers," Ponting said in the Daily Telegraph. "Ganguly mentioned that he wanted to work pretty closely with me to make sure we get everything right on tactics on the field."

Ganguly said any tension between the players was in the past and he was excited about joining forces with Ponting. "Things happen when you compete in series," he said, "and that's over and done and we need to look forward."

Matthew Hayden, one of the key figures in the hearings after the SCG Test, now believes the events surrounding Harbhajan Singh's race charge were "blown out of all proportion". "Bhaji is a true fighter and we enjoy the on-field rivalry," Hayden said. The pair is likely to face off again when Hayden's Chennai take on Harbhajan's Mumbai on Wednesday.

"Whatever happened in Australia was blown out of proportion and has been talked to death," Hayden said. "In fact, playing Bhaji helped me understand how to get into the mind of a spinner."

Shane Warne and Graeme Smith, who had a prickly on-field relationship before the legspinner's international retirement, are in the same team at the Rajasthan Royals, but Warne doesn't expect any problems. "We have had a fair go at each other as opponents but I believe we will jell quickly," he said in the Herald Sun. "He is a competitor and is always up for a scrap, which I like, and I'm sure playing in the same side will be fun." Smith's entry has been delayed while he completes domestic duties in South Africa.