World Of Cricket

Chittagong: Pakistan’s spinners revelled in helpful conditions to crush Bangladesh by 58 runs in the third and final one-day international on Tuesday to win the series 3-0.

 

 

The tourists, bowled out for a modest 177, hit back to dismiss Bangladesh for 119 on a wicket that turned and bounced at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury stadium in the port city of Chittagong.

 

Shoaib Malik marked his 200th one-day appearance with three wickets for six runs in four overs and fellow off-spinner Mohammad Hafeez picked up three for 27 as the Tigers were shot out in 38 overs.

 

It was Pakistan’s 28th win in 29 one-dayers against Bangladesh, boosting the confidence of Misbah-ul-Haq’s men ahead of the two-Test series starting on Friday.

 

The match was interrupted for 20 minutes in the second session when the floodlights went off, plunging the entire stadium in total darkness.

 

Bangladesh were sailing smoothly at 69-1 in the 20th over when five wickets crashed for 14 runs to allow Pakistan to bounce back in the match.

 

Bangladesh lost opener Tamim Iqbal off the first ball of the innings, bowled by Hafeez, before Shahriar Nafees and Mohammad Mahmudullah put on 69 for the second wicket.

 

The home team lost Nafees (25), skipper Mushfiqur Rahim (0) and Mahmudullah (35) in the space of three runs — all leg-before to the spinners — to slide to 72-4 by the 22nd over.

 

Hafeez took a return catch of Shakib Al Hasan in his final over before Nasir Hossain, who scored a century in the last match, was caught off Abdur Rehman for three.

 

Farhad Reza and Alok Kapali delayed the end with a seventh-wicket stand of 34, before Malik polished off the tail to complete his team’s emphatic win.

 

Earlier, Bangladesh spinners Abdur Razzak and Mahmudullah shared six wickets to bowl Pakistan out cheaply.

 

Left-armer Razzak claimed three for 21 in 10 overs and off-spinner Mahmudullah grabbed three wickets in seven balls as Pakistan folded in 46.1 overs.

 

Umar Akmal top-scored with 57 and Misbah made 47, the pair adding 94 for the fourth wicket after Pakistan were reduced to 39-3 by the 12th over.

 

Pakistan made a shaky start, failing to score off the first 15 deliveries after Hafeez was caught in the covers from the fourth ball of the innings.

 

Misbah and Akmal stayed together till the 36th over to rebuild the innings before Razzak struck twice in his eighth over.

 

Pakistan leveled the world record of winning 22 consecutive ODI’s against any team, Pakistan done it against Bangladesh. Mohammad Hafeez has moved up to no.2 in the ICC ODI ranking for bowlers. Two Pakistani bowlers (Saeed Ajmal & Mohmmad Hafeez) are now holding the top two world spots.

 

This is the 6th consecutive ODI series win for Pakistan. 2011 proved to be a fantastic year for Pakistan.

 

Result: Pakistan won by runs.

Man Of The Match: Umar Akmal (Pakistan).

 

Winner Of The Series: Pakistan by 3-0.

Man Of The Series: Umar Akmal (Pakistan).

 

HD Highlights: Coming Soon.

HQ Photo Gallery: Click here to watch collection.

 

Comments by both captains and by man of the series:

 

Mushfiqur Rahim (Captain of Bangladesh): ”Our bowlers did well all series, but our batsmen let us down. Hopefully we will overcome this in two days and do well in the Tests.”

 

Misbah-ul-Haq (Captain of Pakistan): ”This was a really tough game, and our bowlers did wonderfully. We need to improve our batting though. When there is self-belief, you manage to get through. Bangladesh were only one wicket down when the lights went out, and we were a little down. But Mohsin and Ijaz assured us that the game isn’t over, and a wicket would bring us back. Umar came in a difficult situation, read the pitch well and that’s what was required. Good to have everyone performing, and winning games from such difficult positions.”

 

Umar Akmal (Man Of The Series): ”It was a difficult wicket, Misbah asked me to build a stand, the ball was skidding, but it got easier. Both batting and keeping are difficult, since our bowlers are good. Thanks to Shahid Azlam Saab for helping me with my work-outs.”

Dhaka: Pakistan continued its winning run as it defeated Bangladesh by 76 runs. Nasir Hossain was the only Bangladeshi batsman who showed some guts and will to fight, he was awarded with the ‘Man Of The Match’ award for his brilliant ton.

 

 

Umar Akmal scored 59 and Shahid Afridi hit 42 off 27 balls as Pakistan piled up 262-7 after they won the toss and elected to bat in the day-night match at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium.

 

The total proved beyond Bangladesh’s reach after they were reduced to 19-4 in the 10th over, and managed only 186-7 despite a maiden international century from Nasir Hossain.

 

Nasir cracked 100 and Shakib Al Hasan made 34, the pair sharing a fifth-wicket stand of 106 runs, but Bangladesh were never in the hunt against the tight Pakistani bowling.

 

The 20-year-old Nasir, playing only his ninth one-dayer, plundered 11 boundaries and a six before he was dismissed in the final over.

 

Seamer Umar Gul finished with four for 36, while off-spinner Mohammad Hafeez conceded just 15 runs in his 10 overs with two wickets.

 

Pakistan’s 27th win over the Tigers in 28 one-dayers has left only academic interest in the third and final match to be played in the port city of Chittagong on Tuesday.

 

The one-dayers will be followed by two Test matches.

 

Pakistan had won the Twenty20 international by 50 runs and the first one-dayer by five wickets at the same venue.

 

Hafeez, who opened Pakistan’s attack, removed Imrul Kayes and Shahriar Nafees in successive overs after Gul had dismissed the aggressive Tamim Iqbal in his second over.

 

Gul also had Bangladesh skipper Mushfiqur Rahim caught at gully, before Nasir and Shakib delayed the inevitable with their century partnership.

 

Pakistan’s innings revolved around a fourth-wicket stand of 83 between Akmal and Misbah-ul-Haq (37), before Afridi smashed two sixes and three boundaries towards the end to boost the total.

 

Hafeez (32) and Younis Khan (37) put on 57 for the second wicket after opener Imran Farhat had fallen in the third over.

 

Akmal lifted the tempo by reaching his 11th one-day half-century off 49 balls, steering seamer Rubel Hossain to the third-man fence.

 

The 21-year-old fell in the next over, the 39th of the innings, when he holed out in the deep off Shakib to make Pakistan 176-4.

 

It soon became 193-5 as one-day debutant Elias Sunny picked up his first wicket when he had Misbah caught in the deep in the 42nd over.

 

Pakistan is now leading the three-match ODI series by 2-0. This is 6th consecutive series win for Pakistan.

 

Result: Pakistan won by 76 runs.

Man Of The Match: Nasir Hossain (Bangladesh).

 

HD Highlights: Coming Soon.

HQ Photo Gallery: Click here to watch the collection.

 

Dhaka: Shahid Afridi starred with bat and ball in Pakistan’s five-wicket win over Bangladesh in the first one-dayer in Mirpur on Thursday.

 

 

In the first game of a three-match series, Pakistan caused the hosts all sorts of trouble with the ball as they skittled Bangladesh for just 91 with Afridi (5-23) the chief destroyer.

 

But Pakistan did not find it easy in response and they needed a crucial 24 not out from Afridi in the middle to help them over the line with five wickets to spare.

 

Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim won the toss and elected to bat but it looked like a bad decision as early as the first over when Tamim Iqbal departed for a duck.

 

Naeem Islam (five) was dismissed shortly after before Bangladesh lost three wickets in six balls as Rahim (11), Shahriar Nafees (seven) and Mahmudullah (one) all fell to leave the hosts reeling at 5-31.

 

Nasir Hossain (21) and Shakib Al Hasan (15) looked to rebuild things and they managed to add 36 in 10 overs before their partnership was broken by Aizaz Cheema (1-12).

 

Afridi continued to torment the hosts with the wickets of Shakib, Farhad Reza (one) and Shafiul Islam (zero), but a plucky 15 not out from No.11 Rubel Hossain propelled Bangladesh to 91 before they were bowled out in the 31st over.

 

In response, Mohammad Hafeez (22) and Imran Farhat (12) got Pakistan off to a bright start as they negated the impact of Bangladesh’s new-ball bowlers.

 

But they were both dismissed in successive overs and when Younis Khan (two) and Sarfraz Ahmed (twp) both came and went, Pakistan had lost 4-8 and were 4-44.

 

Umar Akmal (seven) became the second victim of Shakib (2-42) but Afridi and Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq steadied the ship and led the tourists to victory, with the former hitting four boundaries in his 23-ball stay at the crease.

 

There were no surprises in store when the man-of-the-match award was announced with Afridi’s efforts recognised as Pakistan claimed a 1-0 lead in the series.

 

Result: Pakistan won by 5 wickets.

Man Of The Match: Shahid Afridi (Pakistan).

 

HD Highlights: Coming Soon.

HQ Photo Gallery: Click here and enjoy.

Cuttack: Rohit Sharma’s fighting 72 has guided India to a thrilling one-wicket win over West Indies in the first ODI.

 

 

Chasing 212, the Indian top-order succumbed to Kemar Roach (3-46) and Andre Russell (2-29) before Sharma shepherded the lower order and putting on a crucial 83-run partnership with Ravindra Jadeja (38) and R Vinay Kumar making 18.

 

But with 11 needed, Sharma and Vinay Kumar both fell and it was left to Varun Aaron (6) and Umesh Yadav (6) to take India home.

 

Darren Sammy, Kieron Pollard and Anthony Martin were the other wicket-takers for the visitors.

 

India’s reply started aggressively before Parthiv Patel (12) fell in the fifth over with the score on 37 as he cut a wide Roach delivery straight to Martin at point.

 

Gautam Gambhir (4) fell in the same over as he slashed at an away-going bouncer and edged it straight to Denesh Ramdin behind the stumps.

 

Six runs later, India were 47 for 3 as Roach cleaned up Virat Kohli (3) and Russell uprooted Virender Sehwag’s (20) stumps with the score at 51.

 

Suresh Raina (5) also did not lost long as he was early into the drive off Russell and spooned a simple catch to Darren Bravo at mid-on to give West Indies control of the match.

 

But Sharma and Jadeja batted sensibly, looking for singles to rotate the strike and keep the scoreboard ticking over until they were well-set to look for boundaries.

 

Jadeja fell with 70 needed and R Ashwin (6) was run out to give West Indies the upper hand again with India 159 for 7, still 52 runs adrift.

 

Sharma and Vinay Kumar looked set to take India home before West Indies struck.

 

Sharma missed a flick off Martin and the ball crashed into the stumps after a deflection from the pads with India needing 11 of 29 balls.

 

Pressure got to Vinay Kumar in the next over as he found Roach at mid-off while trying to hit Darren Sammy over the in-field.

 

Aaron and Yadav played several dot balls as the target came down to nine off 12 but both struck a crucial boundary each off Sammy to seal the win.

 

Earlier, India elected to field and were in control of the proceeding as the visitors kept losing wickets regularly.

 

Darren Bravo top scored with 60 and eight other batsmen made double figures but Danza Hyatt’s 31 remained the second-highest score.

 

Six Indian bowlers shared the wickets with Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron claiming two and Vinay Kumar, Ashwin, Jadeja and Raina taking one each.

 

The second game of the five-match series will be played at Vishakhapatnam on Friday.

 

Result: India won by 1 wicket.

Man Of The Match: Rohit Sharma (India).

Sharjah: Pakistan defeated Sri Lanka in a nail biting game by 26 runs. All rounder Shahid Afridi answered his critics by scoring 75 runs, taking 5 wickets & 1 catch.

 

 

~ Pakistan Innings ~

 

It was all started at the crazy Sharjah Cricket Stadium which later on was honored by Guinness World Records for hosting the most no. of ODI’s  (201) in cricket history.

 

For the second time, Pakistan won the toss and decided to bat first. Mohammad Hafeez and Imran Farhat opened the innings for conquering new targets.

 

Both played the 1st five overs nicely but then a lazy shot by Imran Farhat & a good catch by wicket keeper Kumar Sangakkara changed things for Pakistan.

 

Younis Khan came in to handle the situation with the burden of his experience. M. Hafeez who was looking settled at the crease caught out by Chandimal at the ball of Prasanna in 16th over. M. Hafeez scored 27 runs off 51 balls (3 FOURS).

 

It was 57/2 when Pakistani skipper came in but a loose shot by Younis Khan in the next over turned it into 62/3. Shoaib Malik who was making his comeback was trapped by Mendis in front of stumps. Next man was Umar Akmal who was on song in the 2nd ODI but failed here and also became victim of Mendis.

 

No one in the whole ground was believing this situation. Pakistan was down to 5 in 24 overs and the score was 72. BOOM BOOM Afridi came in to support his skipper, he was looking calm and quite.

 

For pressurizing the field, both batsmen took some close singles; in between all this one call went against them and that cost Pakistan the wicket of its skipper Misbah-ul-Haq.

 

Wicket keeper Sarfraz Ahmed supported Afridi and stayed at the crease for 24 min. but that was too short. Pakistani fans were looking sad and Sri Lankan fans were singing and dancing.

 

The score of Pakistan was 120/7 in 34.2 overs. Saeed Ajmal then became the one whom Afridi was looking for. He played in gaps, gave strike back to Afridi and kept the scoreboard ticking.

 

Boom Boom stayed calm in the 3rd and last powerplay and planned for attacking in the last 10 overs of the game.

 

The day was for Afridi, he smashed two balls for FOUR & 1 for SIX in 43rd over. He skied one high up in the air but the fielder (Fernando) dropped it.

 

In the next over, he tried to play the full and wide delivery of Perera but couldn’t timed it well and got an outside edge which flew to Sangakkara’s right where he took another one-handed good catch.

 

Spectators enjoyed that knock of 75 (65 balls, 4 FOURS, 3 SIXES) from Afridi. He and Ajju created a partnership of 61 runs.

 

Pakistan lost its last two wickets for 19 vital runs. Saeed Amal and Umar Gul were the batsmen who got dismissed. Fernando bowled 3 maidens and took 3 wickets for 26 runs (10 overs), Mendis and Prasanna shared 2 wicket each, Malinga and Perera bagged 1, 1 wicket.

 

Pakistan scored 200/10 in 49.3 overs. Sri Lankan bowlers gave 10 extra-runs (lb 2, w 8). The target wasn’t difficult to chase but it became competitive because of the bowling attack of Pakistan.

 

 

~ Sri Lanka Innings ~

 

As usually Tharanga and Dilshan started things for Sri Lanka. Both went hard on the ball and Cheema was the one who suffered but also made a comeback by sending Tharanga back in pavilion.

 

There was a close chance for getting golden wicket of Sangakkara but the big gap between wicket keeper and 1st (only) slip turned it down. Aizaz was a bit disappointed because he was doing a lot of work.

 

At the score of 37, Sri Lanka lost its 2nd wicket in the form of their skipper Tillakaratne Dilshan who nicked one back to Sarfraz. Strangely Dilshan challenged the decision using his DRS right but in the end technology also proved him wrong, it was a clear nick & sound was there too.

 

Young Chandimal  was the new batsman, he struggled at the crease for sometime and then he dragged one onto his stumps. Mohammad Hafeez was the bowler who was thrilled with the wicket.

 

This was the 3rd wicket which Sri Lanka lost in its chase. Most experienced batsman Mahela Jayawardene arrived at crease who in the last match reached a milestone (crossed 10,000 runs in ODI’s).

 

The real test for Pakistan started now as both batsmen stopped playing big shots and started relying on singles/doubles. Shahid Afridi who hurt his knee during chasing a ball struck by Chandimal came back on the field. Misbah-ul-Haq was going quickly through the overs of Malik & M. Hafeez.

 

Afridi was given ball in the 21st over, crowd was happy to see their favorite all-rounder back. But there was nothing going in favor of him or his team. Pakistani skipper tried his all options, he gave the ball to Ajmal, Malik, M. Hafeez, Afridi, Gul & Cheema but there was nothing then a disappointment.

 

Sri Lanka was cruising to the target, their fans were happy for this partnership. Pakistani fans who were shouting and praising their team in the start were now looking silent and upset.

 

At the end of 37th over, the score for Lanka was 149/3 & they were just 52 runs away from the victory.

 

Who was thinking that the main event is still to come, Afridi in the next over rattled the stumps of Sangakkara who was playing at 58 (103 balls, 6 FOURS).

 

May be that was the hope for which Pakistani players were looking for. A hint of light to dispel dark.

 

In the next over, Ajmal found the outside edge of Mathews’s blade which Sarfraz behind the stumps took beautifully. He was the 5th one to go down. Tension was rising in the dressing room of Sri Lanka.

 

After a couple of overs, Afridi managed to trap Mendis in front of stumps, this was the 2nd one for him. Crowd was shouting ‘Afridi – Afridi – Afridi’. This was something the world of cricket never observed before.

 

In his next over, Afridi grinned the hopes of Sri Lankans by taking another golden wicket, this time batsman was Jayawardene. Mohammad Hafeez was the fielder who took a beautiful catch. Mahela scored 55 runs off 87 balls (2 FOURS & 1 SIX).

 

On the very next ball, Afridi caught Prasanna on his own ball. It was incredibly done by B00m B00m. Score of Sri Lanka was 168/8 in 43.3 overs. 33 runs were required off 39 balls.

 

Ajmal in the next over sent Malinga back on a good lbw shout. Pakistan was just 1 wicket away from the victory and that was booked for Afridi by the ALMIGHTY (GOD). Perera gave up in front of Afridi and caught out. This completed 5 wicket haul for Afridi, fantastic win for Pakistan and fascinating match for the crowd.

 

Last 7 wickets of Sri Lanka fell for 19 runs. Shahid Afridi again toppled the table with 5 wickets, Aizaz Cheema & Saeed Ajmal shared 2 wicket each and Mohammad Hafeez took 1 wicket.

 

Sri Lanka scored 174 in 45.2 overs and lost their all wickets. Pakistani bowlers gave 10 extra-runs (lb 3, w 6, nb 1).

 

 

The difference was the Transformer – Afridi who transformed everything he touched into Gold. The thunder & lightning tonight struck Sharjah emphatically. He is definitely a match winner. World will remember this historic & crazy match played here in UAE.

 

The next and last ODI match will be played at Abu Dhabi on November 23, 2011 which will start at 15:00 (local) & 11:00 (GMT). Pakistan will have to win it to go one place up at no.5 in ICC ODI rankings and Sri Lanka will have to play for its pride.

 

Result: Pakistan won by 26 runs.

Man Of The Match: Shahid Khan Afridi (Pakistan).

 

HD Highlights: Click here and enjoy.

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Dubai: Pakistan went up to 1-0 in the ODI series after defeating Sri Lanka by 9 wickets at Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Pakistani bowlers and batsmen both responded neatly to the call of the nation.

 

 

Short Scores:

Sri Lanka Innings: 131/10 (40.3 ov.)

Pakistan Innings: 132/2 (21.5 ov.)

 

The spectators at the stadium were on fire when Sri Lankans were bowled out at the score of 131. It was a mutual effort by the Pakistani bowlers. The Pakistani attack was as strong as iron after the comeback of Boom Boom – Shahid Afridi and Bang Bang – Abdul Razzaq.

 

Sri Lankans were excited when they won the toss and decided to bat first. Gul and Cheema opened the account for Pakistan and Dilshan was their first victim who was clean bowled in the second over by Aizaz Cheema.

 

That was the start of an unexpected end. Gul and Cheema kept the pressure which led Pakistan to 2nd wicket when Abdul Razzaq came to bowl and took the golden wicket of Sangakkara. After his departure, Tharanga also gave up and chipped the ball to mid-off where Cheema took an easy catch. This was the first wicket for Mohammad Hafeez.

 

Chandimal tried to go hard on the bowlers but a thunderous delivery of Afridi which hit him low on his pad ended his game.

 

Mathews and Mahela then tried to collect the singles and doubles which were allowed by the Pakistanis. They added 27 runs together off 60 balls. But then a confusion on taking a run ended the short-run of Chandimal, he was ran-out, it was good throw by Abdul Razzaq at the keeper’s end where Sarfraz removed the bails very quickly.

 

Sri Lanka was down to 5 at the score of 104 and still 20 overs were hanging behind. The next one was Kulasekara who chipped on to mid-off where Gul took a soft catch.

 

The last 4 wickets went down for 24 runs. Shahid Afridi topped the table with 3 wickets, Saeed Ajmal and Mohammad Hafeez bagged 2 wickets while Abdul Razzaq and Aizaz Cheema took 1 wicket each.

 

Sri Lankan tower was collapsed at the score of 131 in 40.3 overs. Pakistani bowlers gave 19 extra runs (lb 5, w 13, nb 1).

 

Mohammad Hafeez and Imran Farhat started the things for Pakistan. Both were looking in good form but after hitting 1 FOUR, Mohammad Hafeez pushed one towards mid-on where Kulasekara took an easy catch. Lakmal was fancied with the wicket.

 

On the other end, the Destroyer – Malinga was bowling threatening yorkers but Younis and Farhat kept their gates closed. Both batsmen build the partnership of 112 runs.

 

Imran Farhat after scoring his 9th fifty got lbw out to Lakmal, it was straight, pitched in line and nipped back just enough to confuse the batsman.

 

After his departure, Sarfraz Ahmed came in to end the match. Younis Khan who always share smiles then completed his 45th ODI fifty. He is performing really good since last couple of tours.

 

Pakistan comprehensively chased the target in 21.5 overs by scoring 132/2. Lakmal was the only bowler from Sri Lankan side who gathered 2 wickets. Malinga was a bit off-track as he bowled 4 no-balls. Sri Lankan bowlers gave 17 extras (lb 6, w 7, nb 4).

 

Crowd at DSC was overwhelming as the majority was supporting Pakistan. There were some Sri Lankan fans who were disappointed because of their team performance but Dilshan in the post-match ceremony asked them not to get dis-heart as there are many more matches left in the series and his team will make a comeback.

 

ICC ranked no.2 Sri Lanka today tasted the dust at Dubai International Cricket Stadium against ICC ranked no.6 Pakistan. Let’s see if Lankans will fight back in the rest of the series.

 

Both teams will play 2nd ODI on November 14 here again, the match will start at 15:00 (local) – 11:00 (GMT).

 

Result: Pakistan won by 8 wickets.

Man Of The Match: Shahid Afridi (Pakistan).

 

HQ Highlights: Coming Soong

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