Schumacher rues missing out on points

Mercedes driver Michael Schumacher narrowly missed out on tenth-place after losing a fierce battle with Daniel Ricciardo towards the end of the Japanese Grand Prix.

We also post reactions from drivers from Mercedes, Caterham, Marussia and HRT.

MERCEDES:
Michael Schumacher: "I have mixed feelings after the race here in Japan, because it's obviously unfortunate to come so close to scoring points and not manage it, after a race which went better than we expected. In the final laps, I had a nice and interesting battle with Ricciardo, but in the end I couldn't get past him because the Toro Rosso was so quick on the straights. That's why we have to say we couldn't have got much more out of it today. Now let's see how things go in Korea."

Nico Rosberg: "I had a good start to the race but unfortunately it ended fairly quickly today. In the first corner Grosjean spun into Webber and that also led to my accident. I began to brake but Senna crashed into me from behind which destroyed my rear tyre and meant that I had to retire. It's a shame as I felt very comfortable with my car on the installation lap, and I was confident that we could score some decent points. I'll now hope for a better weekend in Korea."

CATERHAM:
Heikki Kovalainen: "I had a fantastic start, avoided all the problems in turn one and passed Glock as soon as the safety car came out. I was running really well in 11th until the first set of stops and in that first stint the car felt great. I was keeping the pack behind me and tyre wear on the softs was good. We went onto the hard tyres for the second stint and, again, wear rates were excellent. We were even thinking about doing a one stop race but towards the end of the stint they started to go off so we came in with ten laps left and from there it was all about making sure we got to the flag without any problems."

Vitaly Petrov: "At the start I had to avoid the problems in front but got through that ok and pretty quickly settled into a good rhythm. My first stop was fine but after that we lost KERS and that obviously cost me time. I also had a problem with the radio and couldn't hear the blue flag calls and that ended up with the drive-through penalty. From where I started on the grid and with the KERS issue I think I probably got as much as I could out of the car today. It's been a bit of tough weekend but it's good to see the team working so hard to keep pushing us forwards and next week in Korea we have another chance to keep fighting."

MARUSSIA:
Timo Glock: "I'm very happy to say it was a good race for us today. The start was quite a shock when I saw all the cars flying across the track. Heikki came through it quite well but I was right behind him and I was able to overtake him in the Esses. I was up to P11 but I knew that would be short-lived because we were struggling a bit with traction out of the last corner and obviously they have KERS and we don't. Heikki got past and I continued to lose quite a lot of time in that corner afterwards - three or four tenths each lap into turn 1 and the Esses - which allowed the other guys - who also have KERS - to pass me. In general though we had good pace and were quite consistent. The behaviour of the tyre to the car was very good and we were able to stay out quite long. The first pitstop was very strong - the fourth quickest team of the race - so a great job by the crew as they work so hard on that every day. I had good pace on the prime tyre and was going well, but at last pit stop I was a little long in the box having misjudged the grip, so my mistake and sorry for that. I was then able to close the gap to Heikki so our strategy was spot-on. We were as close as four seconds at one stage but the blue flags opened the gap again. Still, eight seconds away at the end was pretty good! We have to be happy I think. We fought well, the car was a lot of fun to drive and it's great to have a consistent car again. We continue to have better pace in the race, so we will keep working hard on our overall performance and enjoying this very positive final phase of the season."

Charles Pic: "Obviously it is disappointing for me to have to retire as we were coming back strong at that point in the race. It is also the first retirement for a while. The start was difficult as we had to avoid the trouble at the first corner, then on the first stint I was struggling for grip with the Hard tyre. This improved when I switched to the Soft tyre for the second stint. My race was going well and I was behind Timo and ahead of Vitaly and Pedro. Unfortunately I misjudged the pit box on my second stop, going quite long, and lost a lot of time. Shortly afterwards I had to stop due to a problem with the engine. Overall it has been a good weekend and I have enjoyed my first experience of this amazing technical circuit. I look forward to another new circuit for me next weekend and a better result."

HRT:
Pedro de la Rosa: "Today's race was quite good and we could say we've taken a step forward, although we still have plenty to do. The first stint was good but we had a problem in the first pitstop which made me lose quite a lot of time. My times with the hard tyres towards the end were very good and we were right in there. The car was handling well and we got close to Pic and Petrov, which for us, at a track like this, is fantastic."

Narain Karthikeyan: "I had a good start and passed Pic on the first lap. The car was working well, it had good pace, and after the first pitstop I was ahead of Pedro and completing a good race. However, we suffered a problem with the car later and, coming in for a second tyre change, the team decided that, as a precautionary measure, it was best to stop. Now it's time to think about Korea and work to take another step forward."

Dhoni has to trust Sehwag's abilities: Akram

COLOMBO: Former Pakistan skipper Wasim Akram has thrown his weight behind off-colour Virender Sehwag, saying skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni must trust the India opener's abilities.

"Sehwag's position in the batting line-up is a no brainer. Dhoni has to trust Sehwag's abilities," Akram said on the eve of India's World Twenty20 match against Australia.

The former speedster referred to Mike Hussey's "interesting" statement that a player like Sehwag is "never out of form".

"Hussey knows what he is saying and he is not far from the truth. If Sehwag is fit, he must open the batting for India. No questions asked.''

"India will be playing their first Super 8 match against Australia at the Premadasa Stadium. Given the nature of the wicket Sehwag is an automatic choice.''

"The deck is perfect for his style of batting, but that does not mean Sehwag can throw caution to the wind. The longer he stays at the crease, India will profit," Akram wrote in a website.

Concerns over Zaheer Khan's bowling are "legitimate" according to Akram, but he left it on the struggling seamer to decide on which format to play in and which to skip.

"There have been legitimate concerns over Zaheer. He is bowling well with the new ball but struggling to contain the runs with the old ball. But no one can negate Zaheer's experience. He still remains an asset to India.''

"We are nobody to decide on his future. He is the best man to choose which format of cricket he must continue to play. My advice to him is that he should sprint more in the last two overs.''

"He is only 33 and just needs to get his rhythm back with lot of work in the nets," he said.

Akram also did not endorse the idea of using Irfan Pathan as a pinch-hitter.

"India can't afford to experiment at this stage. While I see Irfan Pathan's role in the team as an all-rounder, using him as a pinch-hitter or an opener is not a great idea because India's top order has quite a few batsmen who can smack the ball from the very start.''

Akram is expecting India to go in with at least two spinners against Australia.

"Harbhajan Singh's impressive return has given the Indians a selection headache. Piyush Chawla is a tempting choice for the sheer variety he brings to the table with his googly and flippers.''

"And there is the in-form offie (R) Ashwin. Therefore, if Dhoni opts for two specialist spinners, I will not be surprised."

As far as the Super Eights groupings are concerned, Akram said, "Group 2 is surely the group of death. Australia are a top notch side though I believe that their middle-order needs to improve. They always rise to the occasion and that makes them a dangerous side.''

"India and Pakistan have showed their might in this format and have really performed well in the league stages. South Africa falter in big games but their excellent fielding can galvanize their performance any time. South Africans have good experience of the conditions.''

"Several of them play the IPL. It's really tough to pick which two teams will make the last four from group 2. But one thing is for sure, the champion team will almost certainly come from this pool."

t 20 match

Harbhajan Singh:" First of all I would like to thank God. Ya, I'm back. I have been dropped because of injuries and other boys were doing well. God is great and he gave me 4 wickets. For me it was an important game, I was not playing international games for a year. Taking wickets was much needed. This reward is for my mom and close people who have stuck to me. In T20 cricket, it's important to just read the game and cut down the run-up. I was not able to control the ball. I bowled with a shorter run-up. This is everything for me, without playing for India, what I would do. Special thanks to the boys, who supported me when I was out. I would like to thank Essex people as well. Hopefully I can continue to do well."Dhoni:" I think it was a fantastic performance after resting a few key players. We batted really well. We were not aiming too high as we had 5 bowlers and they responded well. It's a difficult one, we have requested the senior players to try a few players. They responded well. Irfan is gutsy and he takes up challenges. The middle order remained the same. That was a good sign for us. Response from the spinners was brilliant. Our fast bowlers were not bowling really well. Let's go back to our basics. We gave both spinners chances and now we have a problem of plenty. If the guys are responding, you need to give them some extra games. When you get desperate to perform, you don't really do well. Rohit can play a variety of strokes. We will have to see the interest of the team. All the players who missed the games have won India a lot of players single-handedly."

india won match

1. Kohli: 'It's always good to get a start. I had a decent knock in the warm up game as well. It's always tough to play against a team which has nothing to lose. They could just go out and express themselves. I just wanted to stick through the initial period and then go after the bowling. The passion for the game is the secret behind my consistency I guess. '

Kohli is the Man of the Match

Mahendra Singh Dhoni: 'It's important to get off to a winning start. The format balances the teams. If one of their batsmen had got going it could have been different. We have to improve in a lot of areas to be frank. Otherwise there will be pressure on the batsmen to score 20 runs more than the par score. We are playing 1 bowler short so the part timers have to do well. But if the main bowlers are not doing well, then it's a big problem. People talk about 5 bowlers, but the bowlers on the day should do well. We can't take any side lightly. This was a great example. '