World Of Cricket

Abu Dhabi: Pakistan defeated Sri Lanka in the last ODI by 3 wickets. Skipper Misbah-ul-Haq & young Umar Akmal scored 66 & 61 runs respectively.

 

 

Sri Lanka limped to 9-218 from their 50 overs before Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq and Umar Akmal both hit half-centuries to help steer their side past the total with 16 balls to spare, giving them a 4-1 series win after a 1-0 triumph in the Test series.

 

Sri Lanka were in dire straits early in their dig at 4-46, but Kumar Sangakkara (78) and Angelo Mathews (61) put on 118 for the fifth wicket to be the best of the Sri Lankan batsmen.

 

Seamer Sohail Tanvir was the chief destroyer with 4-34 from seven overs, with Umar Gul, Junaid Khan, Saeed Ajmal, Shahid Afridi and Mohammad Hafeez all taking one apiece.

 

Pakistan had few problems overhauling the target, with solid middle order knocks from Misbah (66) and Akmal (61) leading them to 7-219 in the 48th over. Shoaib Malik continued his dismal performance and this time got out at duck.

 

Leg-spinner Jeevan Mendis took 3-36 from seven overs, while seamer Dilhara Fernando claimed 2-47.

 

Pakistan’s series win lifted them to fifth in the ICC’s one-day international rankings. After showing wonderful performance in the ODI series, 3 Pakistani spinner are now among the top 10 ICC ODI bowlers. Off-spinner Saeed Ajmal has become the no.1 ICC ODI bowler, whereas Shahid Afridi & Mohammad Hafeez have moved up to position no.7 & no.8 respectively.

 

Result: Pakistan won by 3 wickets.

Man Of The Match: Umar Akmal (Pakistan).

 

Winner Of The Series: Pakistan (4-1).

Man Of The Series: Shahid Afridi (Pakistan).

 

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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).

 

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Mumbai: India continued its assault as England suffered another defeat by 6 wickets at Wankhede Stadium. Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli played fine innings and scored 80, 86 respectively.

 

 

England’s search for a first win of their India tour goes on after they slipped to a fourth straight defeat in Mumbai.

 

Beaten in Mohali on Thursday to end the series as a contest, England’s ambitions for the remaining two games centred around “maximising our learning and development”, according to team director Andy Flower.

 

Instead, he saw them soundly beaten by six wickets by an India side who have now won 10 of the last 11 matches in which they have batted second.

 

England’s total of 220 proved wholly inadequate, overhauled with 9.5 overs to spare as Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina did what none of England’s top or middle order managed by making decisive contributions.

 

Kohli finished unbeaten on 86, taking his tally for the series to 270 runs at an average of 135, while Raina struck an increasingly violent 80 off 62 balls that reached a crescendo during one of many heated exchanges with the England fielders. The series has been played in a spirit unbecoming of both sides.

 

That this encounter took place on the ground where India won the World Cup in April served as a reminder of their dominance in their own conditions, and England face an unenviable task to salvage some pride in the final ODI in Kolkata on Tuesday.

 

Their failure here stemmed from another unfulfilled performance with the bat, on a surface offering appreciable turn and occasional variable bounce.

 

England’s early response with the ball was admirable, but there remained the suspicion even as Steven Finn, who finished with 3-45, and debutant Stuart Meaker reduced them to 46 for three that more early incursions were needed.

 

Earlier, Craig Kieswetter, Jonathan Trott and Kevin Pietersen perished after making promising starts as England, for whom Tim Bresnan top-scored with 45, were bowled out without using up their allocation of overs for the third time in four games.

 

Ravinchandran Ashwin, India’s off-spinner, claimed 3-38 and slow left-armer Ravindra Jadeja 2-41, while debutant Varun Aaron went some way to justifying his tag as his country’s fastest bowler by collecting the last three wickets in as many overs.

 

England’s innings, which spanned 46.1 overs, was fatally undermined by a middle-order collapse that saw four wickets fall for the addition of 33 runs – after Trott and Pietersen had seemingly repaired the damaged caused by the loss of both openers in successive deliveries.

 

Alastair Cook, despite a decent stride, was lbw to the last ball of Ashwin’s first over, and Kieswetter, who hit two towering sixes in his blistering 29, was trapped in front by a Praveen Kumar leg-cutter that kept a touch low.

 

Trott, who pushed his first ball sweetly through extra-cover for four, accumulated steadily while Pietersen showed only glimpses of his attacking best, most notably in lifting Praveen over long-off for six.

 

Their third-wicket alliance was worth 73 when Vinay Kumar nipped one back to uproot Trott’s off stump, and a splendid catch by substitute fielder Manoj Tiwary, leaping to his right at deep square-leg, to hold a powerful sweep from Pietersen gave a far from sell-out crowd further reason to cheer.

 

Ravi Bopara laboured 19 balls over his eight, an innings that ended when he was lbw sweeping at Jadeja, who topped that by seeing off a disbelieving Jonny Bairstow with a beauty that pitched on middle and hit the top of off.

 

From 145 for six, England were grateful for a seventh-wicket stand of 47 between Samit Patel and Bresnan, although the former never looked like reprising his 43-ball unbeaten 70 in Mohali before he swept the impressive Ashwin to Kohli on the deep square-leg rope.

 

Aaron, a 21-year-old of whom India expect much, mopped up the tail with haste. A leaden-footed Scott Borthwick – playing at the expense of the rested Graeme Swann – and Meaker were both beaten for pace, while Bresnan, having batted with good sense and no little gumption, had his off stump tickled by one that held its line.

 

India’s response began in inauspicious fashion. Parthiv Patel, aiming across the line, and Gautam Gambhir, via inside edge as he attempted to force on the up, were bowled by Finn, before Meaker’s extra bounce, allied to an open face and Kieswetter’s wonderful one-handed catch to his right, accounted for Ajinkya Rahane.

 

In hindsight, Samit Patel’s failure to run out Kohli, on 26, with just one stump to aim at from point cost England dear.

 

Kohli and Raina, manipulating the ball superbly and running with an aggression that matched the feistiness of the game, added 131 for the fourth wicket in fewer than 19 overs.

 

There was little to chose between the two before a visibly riled Raina launched a ferocious assault against Bopara and Finn, who exacted a measure of revenge by beating the left-hander’s wild swing in his first over back, which nonetheless cost 15. Finn’s foul-mouthed send-off was unnecessary.

 

Kohli, who has hardly been shy of offering his opinion in this series, kept his head, though, and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni arrived to accompany him to the finishing line with considerable ease.

 

Result: India won by 6 wickets.

Man Of The Match: Suresh Raina (India)

 

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Mohali: India chased 299 in a pulsating contest to win the one-day series with two games to spare.

 

 

The hosts gained revenge for England’s 3-0 NatWest Series victory last month by building the same scoreline and still can repeat their 5-0 whitewash in 2008.

 

England posted their first competitive total of this series, reaching 298 for four in the third game of the rubber, but India overhauled that by five wickets with four balls remaining.

 

Having managed just 174 in Hyderabad and 237 in Delhi, the tourists owed much to ICC Cricketer of the Year Jonathan Trott, who occupied the crease for more than 46 overs in making 98 not out from 116 balls.

 

Trott was the junior partner in a 101-run third-wicket stand with Kevin Pietersen, who contributed a classy 64 from 61 deliveries.

 

Samit Patel gave England a crucial shot in the arm during the closing overs with a brilliant unbeaten 70 from 43 balls, including seven fours and two sixes, as he and Trott added a rapid unbroken 103 on a true surface.

 

Like Trott, Ajinkya Rahane anchored his side’s innings. The opener compiled 91 from 104 balls, sharing partnerships of 79 with Parthiv Patel and 111 with Gautam Gambhir.

 

The latter alliance put India in a comfortable position until Pietersen held a superb diving catch, left-handed running back from short cover, to remove Gambhir for 58 from 60 deliveries.

 

That was the first of four wickets for 45 runs but Mahendra Singh Dhoni again proved England’s nemesis, putting on an unbroken 65 with Ravindra Jadeja to complete victory. They ended on 35 and 26 respectively.

 

Both sides remained unchanged from the previous game and Vinay Kumar soon had Alastair Cook, who won the toss, trapped in front.

 

Craig Kieswetter picked up the odd boundary, including a commanding six over midwicket off Praveen Kumar and a fortuitous one over third man off Vinay, to take England to 40 from the mandatory powerplay.

 

He played on to part-time off-spinner Virat Kohli for 36, but Pietersen soon got off the mark by clipping Kohli to the fine-leg boundary.

 

Trott picked up three fours in four deliveries by pulling Umesh Yadav and Kohli before cutting the latter to the boundary.

 

Pietersen gracefully drove Praveen on the up to collect three of four fours as 35 came from bowling powerplay, taken at the earliest opportunity.

 

Trott survived on 32 when he was slow to respond to Pietersen’s call for a single to a vacant midwicket and wicketkeeper Dhoni’s throw to Kohli at the striker’s end was wide.

 

Pietersen cut Jadeja for four to reach a half-century from 48 balls and soon picked up consecutive boundaries off Yadav.

 

The century alliance arrived shortly before Pietersen was trapped in front by Jadeja despite a large stride. Ravi Bopara began in risky fashion by edging Jadeja past slip for four.

 

Trott nudged Jadeja to leg to go to 50 from 71 balls before the batting powerplay, which yielded 30 but saw Bopara play on to Vinay’s searing yorker for 24, was forced.

 

Patel announced himself with a pulled boundary off Yadav and consecutive leg-side fours off Vinay.

 

He quickly grew in confidence, lifting Vinay over the long-on rope and – having gone to a half-century from 36 deliveries – striking four boundaries in the last two overs, finishing the innings by repeating his earlier blow off Vinay.

 

Parthiv and Rahane eschewed risk but picked up regular boundaries as 57 came from the initial powerplay overs in India’s reply. Those dried up thereafter, encouraging Cook to take the bowling powerplay in the 16th.

 

Tim Bresnan rewarded Cook’s decision, trapping Parthiv in front for 38 with one that may have pitched fractionally outside the left-hander’s leg stump.

 

Bresnan gifted Gambhir a long-hop first ball, which was cut for four. Consecutive boundaries then came via Jonny Bairstow’s four overthrows and Rahane’s controlled edge off Bresnan.

 

With 31 taken from the powerplay and Rahane beyond 50, Gambhir survived on 17 when Kieswetter could not hold his faint edge off Patel.

 

England exerted some control in the middle overs when Gambhir went past 50 and heralded the century stand with a checked drive for six off Graeme Swann.

 

Pietersen’s intervention was crucial, giving Steven Finn – the game’s most impressive bowler with 2-44 from 10 overs – Gambhir’s wicket.

 

Kohli survived on four when Kieswetter dived to hold the right-hander’s toe-ended hook off Jade Dernbach but spilled the ball on landing.

 

Rahane and Suresh Raina fell in consecutive overs during the enforced batting powerplay, which yielded 33, caught by Cook diving at mid-off and Pietersen comfortably at short cover respectively.

 

Kohli added 31 after his reprieve until he was lbw on the back foot to Swann who, along with Patel, finished his allocation impressively.

 

Dernbach’s variations, however, and Finn’s last over proved expensive. From 30 needed from the final three overs when Kieswetter failed to run out Jadeja for 23, India required seven from the last and Dhoni struck Bresnan’s first two balls to the cover rope.

 

Result: India won by 5 wickets.

Man Of The Match: Ajinkya Rahane (India).

 

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Harare: New Zealand punched another 9 wicket-defeat to Zimbabwe to keep their winning streak going. Rob Nicol who made his debut today also scored a fabulous century.

Delhi: Virat Kohli compiled an attractive century and shared an unbroken partnership of 209 with Gautam Gambhir as India moved 2-0 ahead in the five-match one-day series against England with a comprehensive eight-wicket win.

 

 

Set 238 for victory in this day/night fixture at the Feroz Shah Kotla, Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s side had few problems in following up Friday’s 126-run success in Hyderabad with another hugely convincing triumph.

 

Kohli, who finished unbeaten on 112 from 98 deliveries, was the undoubted star of the show as he reached three figures for the seventh time in ODIs, although Gambhir hardly suffered in comparison en route to 84 not out from 90 balls.

 

England had earlier been hampered by the frequent loss of wickets in clutches, including both openers for ducks inside the first two overs, as they were dismissed in 48.2 overs after winning the toss.

 

Numbers three to seven all passed 30 and there were stands of 73 and 86 for the fourth and sixth wickets respectively, yet no-one could make it to 50.

 

Vinay Kumar was the pick of India’s attack with 4-30 from nine overs on a surface providing more assistance to the bowlers than many had anticipated, particularly in terms of pace and bounce.

 

England made a bright start with the ball and appeared likely to take advantage of the conditions when Tim Bresnan removed Parthiv Patel and Ajinkya Rahane for 12 and 14 respectively.

 

However, an air of inevitability surrounded India’s pursuit once Gambhir – who backed away and was bowled by Bresnan early in his innings, only for umpire Shavir Tarapore to signal dead ball – and Kohli settled in.

 

After surviving a handful of early scares, the duo exhibited their class in keeping India well ahead of the required rate.

 

Gambhir was typically strong through the off side, while the elegant Kohli, who played a succession of immaculate cover-drives, combined numerous clips and deflections to leg with boundaries all around the wicket.

 

Parthiv was dropped by a diving Graeme Swann in the third over of India’s innings, but fell in Bresnan’s next set of six when he chipped tamely to mid-on, where a back-pedalling Alastair Cook held on above his head.

 

A moment of controversy followed three deliveries later when Gambhir backed away at the last second and was bowled middle stump, only for umpire Tarapore to call dead ball.

 

Bresnan did not have to wait long for a second wicket, however. After top-edging a pull behind square for six, Rahane looked to repeat the trick next ball and succeeded only in picking out Jade Dernbach at fine-leg.

 

Steven Finn was unfortunate not to gain reward at the other end following a hostile opening spell in which he frequently troubled the batsmen.

 

Both Gambhir and Kohli enjoyed moments of fortune, but England’s failure to claim another wicket was to prove costly as the pair gradually grew in stature.

 

Kohli was the more aggressive, reaching 50 from just 45 deliveries and punishing a number of over-pitched deliveries in dismissive fashion.

 

Gambhir took 62 balls to bring up his own half-century, but, while the left-hander’s contribution may not have been as eye-catching as his partner’s, it was just as valuable.

 

An increasingly assured Kohli continued to delight his home crowd as the third-wicket pair moved beyond India’s previous record third-wicket stand against England in ODIs – an alliance of 175 between Navjot Singh Sidhu and Mohammad Azharuddin at Gwalior in 1993.

 

After easing Dernbach through the covers for his 14th four, the 23-year-old moved to three figures in the 35th over and it wasn’t long before he was clipping the same bowler to the deep midwicket boundary to bring a one-sided match to an end with 13.2 overs to spare.

 

Looking to bounce back from their defeat in the series opener, England could hardly have made a worse start today.

 

Cook cut the fourth delivery of the match, from Praveen Kumar, straight to Ravindra Jadeja at backward point and Craig Kieswetter departed to a loose shot outside off stump for the second game in succession as he nicked an outswinger from Vinay through to Kohli at wide slip.

 

Jonathan Trott, driving gracefully and showing a willingness to play on the up, took advantage of a fast outfield with a succession of sweetly-timed fours before being caught behind for 34 off the impressive Vinay, who maintained a consistent line and length throughout.

 

Kevin Pietersen and Ravi Bopara responded well to a position of peril and shared 73 for the fourth wicket, the former taking England past 100 with the first of two effortless straight sixes off Jadeja.

 

Yet another shift in momentum duly followed as the fourth-wicket pair fell in quick succession with the score on 121.

 

Bopara was trapped in front by Ravichandran Ashwin for 36 as he played outside the line of an off-break bowled from around the wicket.

 

Three balls later, Pietersen, on 46, aimed an expansive drive at a full ball from Umesh Yadav and was superbly caught behind by Dhoni, diving to his right.

 

England needed another partnership and were relieved to see Jonny Bairstow and Samit Patel combine effectively in an alliance of 86.

 

They understandably eschewed risk at the start of their innings, but balanced necessary caution with a series of confident attacking strokes to collect 35 from the batting powerplay, which came into force in the 36th over.

 

Patel struck two maximums off the spinners, over long-on and midwicket, and appeared on course for a significant score before he was lbw, for 42, to a back-of-a-length delivery from the athletic – and at times erratic – Yadav that kept low.

 

In the next over, Bairstow, who had exhibited maturity en route to 35, looked to hit Jadeja over the top and was unable to clear a leaping Kohli at long-off.

 

The returning Vinay enjoyed further success in the 46th over, bowling Swann before having Bresnan caught at mid-off, and England’s innings came to a dismal end when a mix-up between Dernbach and Finn resulted in the former being run out.

 

Result: India won by 9 wickets.

Man Of The Match: Virat Kohli (India).

 

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