World Of Cricket

Mohali: India beat Pakistan in the semi-final by 29 runs. Sachin Tendulkar scored 85 runs and Wahab Riaz took 5 wickets.

The second semi-final of ICC World Cup 2011 between India and Pakistan lived up to all the hype and buzz that had engulfed the two nations before the match. India was always considered a favorite to win but everyone was wary of Pakistan’s often unpredictable and mercurial methods. Once the day finally dawned, it was India that played really well under pressure and won the all-important match against its arch-rivals.

India won the toss and decided to bat first. Virender Sehwag took Pakistan’s star fast bowler Umar Gul to the cleaners in the first 5 overs. In a tremendous batting display, he scored a quick fire 38 off 25 balls which included a flurry of boundaries.  His innings was brought to an end by an unexpected hero for Pakistan, fast bowler Wahab Riaz.

Sachin Tendulkar, on the other end, borrowed all the nine lives from the proverbial cat and proceeded to use most of them during the match. He had an LBW decision reversed by UDRS. When stumped, his foot was found to be just grounded and two of Pakistan best and most experienced fielders dropped easy catches off his batting. Then wicket keeper Kamran Akmal dropped a catch though it was a tough chance as compared to the earlier lapses.  Sachin went on to make 85 and that cost Pakistan the game.

Sachin Tendulkar scored 85 runs off 115 balls including 15 FOURS

On the other end, Wahab Riaz was bent on justifying his inclusion in place of speedster Shoaib Akhtar. His five wickets left the Indian spectators stunned. The noise in the stadium was conspicuous by its absence while Wahab bowled. Indian wickets fell at regular intervals in spite of generosity of Pakistan fielders who were caught napping many a time. In the end, it was Suresh Raina’s responsible innings that gave Indian fans much to cheer about.

India finally managed to reach 260/9 in 50 overs though it was expected that with such an impressive batting line-up they will go beyond 300 runs. Pakistan’s start was slow and cautious and they managed only a 106/3 in first 25 overs. Yuvraj Singh took two wickets in two overs to put Pakistan batting under extreme pressure.

As runs became hard to get, the required run rate climbed up steadily and all hopes of winning seemed to desert Pakistan. The team managed to score only 231 runs before all ten wickets fell by the end of last over.

Misbah-ul-Haq scored 56 runs off 76 balls with the help of 2 SIXES and 1 FOUR

It was a disappointing loss for Pakistan because the total was not very big and they had a good start but Indian bowling and fielding combined with some rash shot selection by Pakistan’s batsmen tilted the result in India’s favor. India will now play co-hosts Sri Lanka at Mumbai in the final match of ICC World Cup 2011.

Though there is sadness and heartbreak for Pakistan’s die-hard cricket fans at this loss, becoming semi-finalists is also a testimony of Pakistan’s immense cricket talent and resilience. Before the tournament, there was a huge scandal of spot fixing that cost Pakistan its two finest fast bowlers and premier opening batsman. They also lost a wicket-keeper who sought asylum in England.

From the lowest ebb under media glare and legal wrangling, Captain Shahid Afridi and coach Waqar Younis re-built a team that ended Australia’s record of remaining unbeaten in 34 World Cup matches.  The only team to defeat finalists Sri Lanka on their home ground is also Pakistan and Shahid Afridi remains the tournament’s leading wicket-taking bowler.

Result: India won by 29 runs.

Man Of The Match: Sachin Tendulkar (India).

Note: For watching the great match, please click here.

India in the final

Comments by both captains and by man of the match:

Shahid Afridi (Captain of Pakistan): ”First of all I’d like to congratulate the Indian cricket team and the Indian nation for this great victory, and wish them all the best fo the final,” he says, magnanimously. “Wahab really bowled well today, but we missed some opportunities. They played better than us. We didn’t make partnerships, we played some irresponsible shots, and a partnership was crucial. I want to say sorry to my nation. We tried our level best, and we enjoyed ourselves at this tournament.”

MS Dhoni (Captain of India): ”We got off to a fantastic start through Sehwag and Sachin. As the game progressed the wicket got slower, and in the middle overs it was difficult to score. Shahid bowled really well, and it was important to just play the bowling with respect. 260 was a good score for this pitch. It was turning, we read the wicket wrong and that’s why we went with three seamers, but in the end the seamers bowled really well too. We don’t have bowlers who can bowl 140 plus, overall we really on what you might call deception – change of length, line and pace. Zaheer did really well, over the years with experience and in IPL and things like that he’s become really smart. We’ve struggled at times in this tournament, but that’s the beauty of this game.”

Sachin Tendulkar (Man Of The Match): ”First of all I’d like to thank everyone here for terrific support, without that this wouldn’t have been possible, and not to forget the whole team’s efforts today. We just had to make sure we got to a decent, fighting total. When we started I was thinking of 310 to 315, whch was par score for me, but the way the ball started stopping and spinning, something closer to 270 was par.

Going back to Mumbai for this event is going to be a wonderful occasion, we’ve got to be calm and focussed. This has been memorable, and something I will cherish all through my life.”

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Colombo: Sri Lanka beat New Zealand in the Semi-final by 5 wickets. Malinga and Muralitharan took 3, 3 wickets. Dilshan & Sangakara scored 73 & 54 respectively.

Certain chores in life cannot be avoided, like neutering cats, unblocking drains, and beating New Zealand in World Cup semi-finals. But Sri Lanka did it — the latter anyway – with just enough emphasis to suggest that on Saturday in Mumbai they can go all the way.

A couple of times Sri Lanka might have buckled under the strain of ­chasing 218 to win, as the New ­Zealanders fought characteristically before going down by five wickets, but the hosts always had some steel in reserve.

So Muttiah Muralitharan has been granted one more international match to add to his record total of 534 one-day wickets, but Daniel Vettori has not as New Zealand’s gallant captain.

Sri Lanka have always had fine ­batsmen — chaps who could hit a wristy fifty when MCC stopped on the voyage to Australia — but the steel has been acquired only in the last ­generation. Sociologists might see it as a by-product of the vicious civil war, or of the private-school matches that attract enormous crowds of whisky-drinking old boys. Whatever the cause, the home side did not buckle — as South Africa had done against New Zealand – in the cauldron of noise that was the Premadasa Stadium.

Firstly, the home bowlers — backed by their fielders this time, unlike in their quarter-final against England — kept New Zealand to a total that was “20 or 30 short”, according to Vettori’s calculation. Muralitharan, his right thigh bandaged, hobbled through his 10-over allotment to take two for 42 in his last international match in Sri Lanka, before the first of many ovations. “The icon of Sri Lanka,” his captain Kumar Sangakkara claimed without exaggeration, “and a fantastic human being.”

But New Zealand, like England, ­batted against Sri Lanka’s spinners at much the same pace as an elderly matron going to the shops. England hit five fours in 35 overs of spin; New Zealand managed five fours and a couple of sixes in 33.5 overs. It was the 36th of New Zealand’s innings before a ­batsman went down the pitch to a spinner, by when it would have needed all the king’s horses – and Kevin O’Brien – to set a formidable total.

It was the third ball of Sri Lanka’s innings when Upul Tharanga smacked Nathan McCullum back over his head for six. Tharanga’s initial assault had a lasting effect: McCullum could not be trusted to bowl his full allotment of 10 overs, which New Zealand’s second spinner would have been expected to do on a slowly turning pitch. Jesse Ryder and Scott Styris had to fill in with four overs of medium pace, and the total tab came to 59 off 10: all the difference in a low-scoring semi-final.

Scott Styris scored 57 runs off 77 balls including 5 FOURS

An exemplary, steely, partnership took Sri Lanka up to 160: Tillakaratne Dilshan showed he had a quick head as well as hands by reining himself in after Tharanga’s dismissal, while ­Sangakkara regained third place among the leading run-scorers in this tournament, to Dilshan’s first. Only New Zealand’s zeal in fielding, and a fine spell of left-arm pace by Andy McKay, kept them in the match.

And when Sri Lanka wobbled at 169 for four, and 185 for five, their formative experiences may well have kicked in. The Premadasa was a cauldron all day, and especially after dark when victory approached, but so were the school grounds of these players’ youth: Muralitharan’s old school ground has a 10,000 capacity.

It was Thilan Samaraweera though, the player most injured in the Lahore terrorist attack, and Angelo Mathews who took Sri Lanka home in front of their country’s president. Mathews needed a runner having injured his thigh and if he cannot play in the final, Sri Lanka will be much reduced, because he also bowled economical medium pace in the first 15 overs of powerplay, sometimes holding the ball seam-up but delivering an off-cutter.

Tillakaratne Dilshan scored 73 runs off 93 balls including 10 FOURS & 1 SIX

Ajantha Mendis was even subtler, bowling off-spinners to contain the specialist batsmen, then bamboozling the tail-enders with leg-breaks.

Three first-class counties had a ­special interest in yesterday’s game, to see how their new signings got on. Derbyshire may find that Martin ­Guptill is rather intense: he was ­furious when he made a couple of misfields. Gloucestershire have a ­nimble and innovative batsman in Kane Williamson, but Mendis may be the pick of the new crop in that he will bear the first fruit for Somerset. ­Saturday’s final first, though.

Result: Sri Lanka won by 5 wickets.

Man Of The Match: Kumar Sangakara (Sri Lanka)

Note: For watching the highlights, please click here.

Muttiah Muralitharan waves to the crowd after playing his final home international.

Comments by both captains and by man of the match:

Daniel Vettori (Captain of New Zealand): “We set up a great start, but we lost too many wickets at the end, we scrapped hard today. The top order really set it up, we missed out by not capitalising on that, I think that’s where we lost the game. We have been an outstanding fielding side all tournament, we fought hard but it wasn’t enough today. Sri Lanka are going to be a tough side in the final, particularly with their bowling unit. I’ve enjoyed the tournament, the captaincy – I have enjoyed it some of the time, and not for some of the time.” {Vettori signs off as one-day captain.}

Kumar Sangakara (Captain of Sri Lanka & also Man Of The Match): ”The last game for Murali in Sri Lanka, we really wanted to give him a good send-off. Our bowling variety has been great, our fast bowlers are good, our spinners have been good. Murali is the icon of Sri Lanka, on the field, off the field, a fantastic human being and a great team man.”

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Colombo: The first die-hard battle (semi-fianl) of the cup that counts will start on March 29, 2011 between Sri Lanka and New Zealand. There are some key points for both teams.

Author: Tim Holt

Blog: Cricket through the eyes of an Irishman

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Mirpur: New Zealand produced an inspired fielding and bowling performance to extend South Africa’s horror run in World Cup knockout matches with a 49-run upset win in Friday’s quarter-final.

South Africa appeared to be coasting at 108-2 in the 24th over after restricting New Zealand to 221 for eight, but crumbled to 172 all out.

The “chokers” tag they had been so keen to banish at this tournament will continue to haunt them.

The turning point came when Jacob Oram took an athletic catch on the boundary to dismiss Jacques Kallis on 47, and the rot set in for South Africa. Oram also took four wickets in a key performance.

AB de Villiers was run out for 32 after Faf du Plessis called for a needless single to give New Zealand a second wicket in three balls and leave South Africa reeling on 121-5 in the 28th over.

Tempers flared when New Zealand’s 12th man, Kyle Mills, appeared to say something to Du Plessis after running out with the drinks, prompting some barging and angry exchanges between the two sets of players.

It was a sign of the high tension in the middle, tension that South Africa’s players succumbed to. Du Plessis and Morne Morkel rallied their team briefly with a ninth-wicket stand of 26 but it was too little, too late.

A jubilant New Zealand team heads to Colombo for Tuesday’s semifinal against Sri Lanka or England, while South Africa heads home to deal with the fallout from another big-match failure that leaves them winless in five World Cup knockout matches.

The defeat also brought the curtain down on Graeme Smith’s captaincy of South Africa’s limited-overs team in the worst possible way, while extending Daniel Vettori’s reign as New Zealand skipper by at least one match.

For a long time, the match looked like being a masterstroke by Smith, whose tactic of rotating his bowlers in two or three-over spells and varying his fields successfully prevented New Zealand’s big-hitting batsmen doing any serious damage.

Jesse Ryder scored a steady 83 for the Kiwis and put on 114 for the third wicket with Ross Taylor, but when New Zealand looked to attack at the end of the innings, the wickets fell on a regular basis.

The machine gun : Jesse Ryder

Vettori was the last man to fall when he was bowled by a clever yorker from Morne Morkel, the second of the paceman’s two wickets in the penultimate over.

Vettori’s return to the team and the inclusion of World Cup debutant Luke Woodcock and Nathan McCullum meant New Zealand matched South Africa by including three spinners in their team.

McCullum struck in the first over — although the wicket had more than a slice of luck attached as Hashim Amla bottom-edged the ball onto Brendon McCullum’s boot and it flew to Vettori at slip.

Kallis and Smith guided the recovery for South Africa but the captain was out for 28 when he sliced straight to substitute Jamie How at backward point.

Kallis wicket was the turning point of match

De Villiers joined Kallis but once again, just as South Africa looked set to take control of the contest, a wicket fell — Kallis attempting to reach the longest boundary over midwicket and finding a galloping Oram instead.

Oram’s catch sparked jubilation among the New Zealand players and the momentum gathered pace when JP Duminy was bowled by Nathan McCullum and then De Villiers was dismissed.

Johan Botha, Robin Peterson and Dale Steyn fell cheaply to leave New Zealand on the brink of victory, and though Du Plessis and Morkel made them wait, Woodcock claimed the final wicket to spark the celebrations.

The winner of the 4th quarter-final {Sri Lanka v England} will face New Zealand in semi-final.

Result: New Zealand won by 49 runs.

Man Of The Match: Jacob Oram (New Zealand).

Note: For watching the highlights, please click here.

New Zealand celebrate their 49-run victory

Comments by both captain and by man of the match:

Greame Smith (Captain of South Africa): “No words to describe how I feel. Just have to take it on the chin.. Very disappointing evening. I thought we bowled pretty well. Credit to Jesse Ryder. At 100 for 2, we were sitting well, and then we lost too many wickets. The stand between Jesse and Taylor kept them in good stead, but we kept them to 220, which is very gettable. We lost too many wickets.. Your guess is as good as mine (as to why we keep losing in World Cup knockouts), its been happening since 1992. We have got some big positives out of the World Cup. We weren’t good enough tonight, but we have to take it forward and not get bogged down. New coach and new captain … We are disappointed with tonight, and nothing I say is going to change that for fans back home.”

Daniel Vettori (Captain of New Zealand): ”Every single bowler stepped up today, and probably it was the fielding that got us through. Martin Guptill was exceptional. Once we got 220, we knew we had to be aggressive. We were hanging in there even when Kallis and AB were going. We wanted 250 on this pitch. We lost some wickets, and scrapped through to 220. We knew it was a tricky wicket, and knew it was going to be an old-school one-day game. That’s the sort of game we like to play. Once we got de Villiers and Kallis, we were back in it. The run out of de Villiers was an amazing piece of work. We are pretty happy to be in the semis, and will be glued to the tv to see how the wicket in Colombo plays tomorrow.”

Jacob Oram (Man Of The Match): ”Thanfully I was tall enough and managed to get there for the Kallis caught. I don’t want to take credit for that one, but I suppose Kallis’ dismissal was the turning point of the match. Its so hard when you are injured continuously to get any rhythm, so the feeling has been better to be on the field. We believe we can go all the way now. This is among the best moments in my career, another one is beating South Africa in the 2003 World Cup.”

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Ahmedabad: India beat the defending champion Australia in the 2nd quarter final by 5 wickets. Yuvraj Singh remained not-out at the score of 57 and also took 2 wickets. The well renowned Australian skipper Ricky Ponting scored a century for his team which in the end went in vain.

Toss: Australia won the toss and elected to bat.

Australia Innings:

Shane Watson and Brad Haddin started the innings for Australia and India opened its bowling with the spinner Ashwin and Zaheer.

Both openers played the first 9 overs almost gently and smoothly. Then in the 10th over, Ashwin clean bowled Watson to took the precious wicket for India.

The captain of Australia came out and started assisting Haddin who was doing great job at the other end. Both were going well against Indian bowlers. After scoring 53 runs off 62 balls including 6 FOURS & 1 SIX, Haddin caught out at the ball of Yuvraj Singh, Raina was the fielder who took a good low catch.

The score of Australia was 110/2 in 22.5 overs. After the addition of 30 runs, the vice captain Michael Clarke; who was new at the crease also threw his wicket. 3 overs later, India got another breakthrough in the form of the wicket of Michael Hussey.

Ponting was the only man who was building Australian innings. Still the match was in Australian favour. Dhoni brought his key man Zaheer Khan back into the attack and again he provided a breakthrough to India. This time the victim was Cameron White.

The score of Australia was 190/5 in 41.2 overs. The other brother of Hussey, David Hussey came in. He assisted his skipper with few dynamic shots. The great innings of the great man, Ricky Ponting came to an end in the 49th over when he tried to play the sweep shot. Ponting scored 104 runs off 118 balls with the help of 7 FOURS & 1 SIX.

At the end of 50th over, the score of Australia was 260/5. It was a good target on a slow pitch of Sardar Patel Stadium. Indian bowlers gave only 11 extra-runs. Ashwin, Zaheer and Yuvraj all took 2, 2, 2 wickets.

Ricky Ponting once again scored century against India in world cup

Indian Innings:

Sehwag and the gentleman Tendulkar started the innings in a great way. Unfortunately Sehwag didn’t scored a boundary at the first ball. Lee was bowling balls on good line and length.

On the other end, Tait was destroying all his work by bowling no-balls and wides. In the 9th over, Watson bowled a short ball to Sehwag, in return Sehwag tried to pull it towards leg-side but got an edge which went miles-up in the air and in the end Hussey took an easy catch.

Now Gambhir came in. He wasn’t looking good in the start but then tried to settle down. Tendulkar on the other hand was hammering Aussies bowlers. Ponting was making necessary changes in the field continuously.

The Indian got a big blow in the 19th over when Tendulkar caught behind at the ball of Tait. Umpire for a second stopped Sachin for checking the no-ball but the replays showed that it was a legal delivery by Tait.

Fragrance of happiness was in the air for Aussies but the bell of concern and frustration was giving tension to the Indian crowd. The score of India was 94/2 in 18.1 overs.

Young Virat Kohli took the guard and came into the ground. Now everything was on the shoulder of the middler order. Ponting appointed spinners to get rid of these players. Krejza, Watson and then Clarke bowled their spells.

After the partnership of 49 runs, Kohli played an unnecessary shot and threw his wicket at the ball of Hussey. He scored 24 runs off 33 balls.

Tension was rising in the Indian dressing room and crowd. The man in form Yuvraj Singh came in and started punishing Aussies bowlers from the 1st ball. It was a crucial moment for Australia as Yuvraj was smashing everything in between the gaps for boundaries.

In the 33rd over, Gambhir got run-out after a mix-up. This was the third opportunity for run-out and Aussies fielders succeeded in doing it.

After sometime, the new batsmen MS Dhoni also got out. 5 wickets of India were down at the score of 187. There was a pin drop silence in the Indian crowd as India was still 74 runs short and 12 overs were remaining.

Suresh Raina was the new batsman, every Indian fan was praying for the victory. The gladiator Yuvraj Singh was hitting every poor delivery towards boundary.

In all this, Brett Lee injured his eye after getting a bad bounce off his hand during fielding. He was bleeding and then get off the field for treatment.

Lee came in the ground once again after treatment to bowl the first over of batting powerplay but unfortunately greeted with a SIX by Raina. Now the game was going all India’s way.

The bowling of Australian bowlers in the last over was very poor specially from Tait. At the fourth ball of the 48th over, Yuvraj Singh smashed a ball towards boundary and announced the victory of India.

India scored 261 in 47.4 overs and lost its 5 wickets. The Australian bowlers gave 21 runs as extras. Lee, Tait, Watson and Hussey took 1, 1, 1, 1 wicket. Yuvraj remained not out at the score of 57 which he scored of 65 balls including 8 FOURS with Suresh Raina who scored 34 runs off 28 balls with 2 FOURS & 1 SIX.

“The Indian crowd was shrieking in joy and Indian players were hugging each other for qualifying the semi-final. Australian skipper and players were looking dejected and disappointed as they were out of the world cup after 12 years. This was the first Indian victory against Australia in world cup history after 1987.”

Yuvraj Singh once again stood for India

Result: India won by 5 wickets.

Man Of The Match: Yuvraj Singh (India).

Note: For watching the winning knock by Yuvraj Singh and highlights, please click here.

Now India will face Pakistan in the semi-final which will take place on March 30. The world is waiting for this clash, it will be one of the best match among the rivals.

Yuvraj Singh roars after taking India to victory

Comments by both captain and by man of the match:

Ricky Ponting (Captain of Australia): ”We needed more wickets in the middle of the innings. With 15 overs to go, it was touch and go, but Yuvraj and Raina played really well. It’s disappointing to bow out, we are a better team than we have played.”

MS Dhoni (Captain of India): ”70-odd runs needed with the last batting pair, it basically meant if we played 50 overs with Yuvraj and Raina, we would make it. There was pressure, and it was about handling it. Yusuf at No. 7 was going for the runs, but Raina is technically better and we were keen on batting 50 overs. That’s why we went with Raina, but we know Yusuf can be dangerous. I’d have been satisfied keeping them to 250, we had our best fielding unit today. I think we saved around 15 runs that we hence did not need to chase. India v Pakistan semi-finals – it doesn’t get better. The pressure will be big, but in reality it makes no difference to us.”

Yuvraj Singh (Man Of The Match): ”I don’t know about hitting any purple patch, but the pressure today, playing Australia, it was something else. When Dhoni got out, I knew we still had Raina to come, and thought if we added 40 odd runs it would be good. I told Gautam (after the run-out) I am not Virender Sehwag, I can’t run like that … Well, may be it was my fault. I have gone through a tough year, but coming into the World Cup, getting that 50 against England, it was good. 260 was a good score, Ponting batted outstandingly but we chased well.”

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Mirpur: Pakistan beat West Indies by 10 wickets to book its place in the semi-final. The magic of Pakistani spinners sunk West Indian batsmen. BOOM BOOM Afridi took 4, Saeed Ajmal and man of the match Mohammad Hafeez took 2, 2 wickets.

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