Sunday 30 June 2013

PAKISTAN VS WEST INDIES FIXTURE-2013

Untitled Document


Explore all the information like live scores, fixtures/schedule, statistics and result on Pakistan tour of West Indies 2013 begin from July 14, 2013. Pakistan cricket team played five one-day international and two Twenty20 games in West Indies during 15-days Caribbean tour. Pakistan were originally scheduled to play two Tests, five ODIs and two T20s in the Windies in June-July, but WICB planned a tri-series involving India and Sri Lanka.
Thursday July 11 - Pakistan 50 over warm up game (opposition TBC) Guyana National Stadium, Guyana
1st ODI Sunday July 14 Providence Stadium, Guyana
2nd ODI Tuesday July 16 Providence Stadium, Guyana
3rd ODI Friday July 19 Beausejour Cricket Ground, St Lucia
4th ODI Sunday July 21 Beausejour Cricket Ground, St Lucia
5th ODI Wednesday July 24 Beausejour Cricket Ground, St Lucia
1st T20I Saturday July 27 Arnos Vale Ground, St Vincent
2nd T20I Sunday July 28 Arnos Vale Ground, St Vincent

Tri-Series: IND vs WI SCORE BOARD-2013



 

 

won the toss, elected to field.

WI won by 1 Wicket.

IND : 170/10 Overs: 50 R:R: 4.58

R Sharma 60(89)
S Raina 44(55)
D Sammy 41/2

WI : 230/9 overs: 47.4 R:R : 4.82

J Charles 97(100)
D Bravo 55(78)
U Yadav 43/3
Player of the Match J Charles

Tri-Series: IND vs WI-2013

India's winning streak ends in Kingston
GAME 2: Dhoni-less India go down by one wicket in low-scoring game.
Yahoo! Cricket

Roach celebrates the winning runs with Best. (AFP)
West Indies scrambled to a one-wicket victory with 14 balls to spare over India in the second match of the Celkon Mobile Cup Tri-Nation One-Day International Series at Sabina Park on Sunday.

Birthday boy Kemar Roach and last man Tino Best ensured the West Indies did not complete their own destruction, turning in match saving performances.

The home side had to reply to the World Cup and Champions Trophy holders' total of 229 for seven.

They tottered from the comfort of 142 for three in the 28th over via a rash of irresponsible shots, even with Johnson Charles battling to hold the innings together.

However the opening batsman joined the apparent suicide pact: he was eighth out for 97 and when Sunil Narine also gifted his wicket at 220 for nine.

It was left to the Barbadian fast bowling pair of Roach -- on his 25th birthday -- and Best to see the West Indies home amid in a nail-biting finish.

India was deprived of the calming influence of Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the field after the captain was hobbled while batting by a suspected right hamstring strain.

But, under the supervision of Virat Kohli, the visitors refused to give up, even when Charles and Darren Bravo (55) appeared to be tilting the balance decisively the home team's way.

Their fourth-wicket partnership of 116 lifted the Caribbean side from the early discomfort of 26 for three.

Umesh Yadav, who removed the dangerous Chris Gayle, and Devon Smith in his opening burst, added the important wicket of Charles to keep his team's hopes alive in the match. He finished with the best figures of three for 43.

West Indies were themselves without their regular captain throughout the match.

With Dwayne Bravo was sidelined with a groin strain, it was Kieron Pollard took the reins of leadership.

Ravi Rampaul also missed out with a twisted ankle, but as it turned out his replacement Best played a key role in the victory.

He claimed the wickets of Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja near the end of the Indian innings before returning to ensure his team scraped over the line to consolidate their position at the top of the three-team standings.

They now have two wins in two matches and head to Trinidad for repeat clashes with India and Sri Lanka before the final on July 11.

Opening batsman Rohit Sharma had top-scored for India with 60 and featured in a 58-run fifth-wicket partnership with the experienced left-hander Suresh Raina.

Raina's knock of 44 was the next best effort among a batting line-up that generally struggled to come to terms with the two-paced nature of the pitch earlier in the day.

It was the same experience for Sri Lanka on the way to their six-wicket defeat at the hands of the West Indies in the tournament's opening fixture on Friday at the same venue.

Roach and former captain Darren Sammy had identical bowling figures of two for 41.

Best also claimed two victims in his final spell after being expensive and wayward in his earlier effort with the new white ball.

Unusually, spinner Narine proved the most expensive, conceding 56 runs off ten wicketless overs, including 17 off the last over of the innings.

Saturday 29 June 2013

Strauss backs England to punish Aussies

The former captain believes England have never been stronger favorites.
AFP
Strauss, Cook and Boycott: Some fun at Wimbledon before the big Ashes test.
 LONDON: Former England captain Andrew Strauss believes his country have never been stronger favourites to win the Ashes after Australia's descent into chaos in recent weeks.

Strauss, who masterminded back to back Ashes triumphs in 2009 and 2011 before retiring last year, has been stunned by the turmoil gripping the Australia squad ahead of the forthcoming series between the old rivals in England.

Australia batsman David Warner missed the majority of the recent Champions Trophy after being suspended for punching England star Joe Root in a Birmingham bar.

Then just weeks before the July 10 start of the Ashes, Australia sacked coach Mickey Arthur and replaced him with Darren Lehmann, while captain Michael Clarke asked to step down from his role as a selector.

Strauss confident

Strauss is confident England will take full advantage of the Australian angst.

"England are in very good shape. The Aussies have been in turmoil over the last few weeks, sacking their coach and David Warner whacking an England player," he told Live at Wimbledon, where he was set to take his place in the Royal Box on Friday.

"England have gone about their business very quietly and have never had a better chance to win an Ashes series. The guys will be excited and I'm starting to get nervous."

Strauss, a former England opener, also backed Root to make the opener's spot his own against Australia.

Nick Compton was given the chance to cement the role as partner to captain Alastair Cook and scored back-to-back centuries in New Zealand in the winter.

But a slide in form led to chairman of selectors Geoff Miller to say Root was "currently the best" option ahead of the Trent Bridge opener next month.

Compton impresses

Compton impressed for Somerset this week against Australia, scoring 81 in a tour match, and will turn out as a guest for Worcestershire against the tourists next week.

But Strauss still feels Root is the man for the job.

"He's dealt with everything that's come his way, including that punch (by Warner)," Strauss said.

"He looks very composed, looks entirely capable of making that job his own and I'm looking forward to watching him and Alastair Cook."

Watson denies forcing Warner issue

Shane Watson

 AFP
 
Shane Watson has denied any role in forcing Australia cricket chiefs to take action against David Warner for the opener's attack on England's Joe Root.

Earlier this month, Warner was fined Aus$11,500 ($11,000) and suspended until the start of the Ashes in Nottingham on July 10 by Cricket Australia. The sanctions were for punching Root in a Birmingham bar following Australia's Champions Trophy loss to their arch-rivals.

The fall-out from the saga then took a shock turn when coach Mickey Arthur was sacked on Monday, just 16 days out from the Ashes.

Following Warner's suspension, there were reports in the Australian media that officials had only decided to discipline Warner after Watson had complained about double standards.

Watson was one of four players dropped from the Test side during a 4-0 series loss in India earlier this year for failing to hand in a written feedback requested by team management.

Watson told the Cricinfo website on Friday that Arthur's actions in India had set a "dangerous precedent" and lauded new coach Darren Lehmann.

But he insisted he had not done anything to make officials suspend Warner.

"Absolutely not," Watson said when asked if he had informed Arthur of events at the Walkabout bar in Birmingham.

"In the end, the coaching staff and Mickey and the leadership group found out about Dave's incident off their own bat.

"It had absolutely nothing to do with me in any way shape or form and I'm not sure why that was brought out in the media because it certainly wasn't the truth.

"They obviously found out, there were some people who were in and around the incident at the time who had relayed the information, so it certainly had nothing to do with me."

Watson has been told by former Australia batsman Lehmann he will be one of Australia's openers in the Ashes and scored 90 in the ongoing tour match against Somerset in Taunton.

"The way Darren operates is a more light-hearted way (than Arthur)," Watson said.

England begin their defence of the Ashes against arch-rivals Australia in the first of a five-Test series at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, on July 10.

Banned cricketer Salman Butt apologises for spot-fixing

cricket yahoo

Salman Butt
Former Pakistan cricket Captain Salman Butt has publicly admitted to and apologised for spot-fixing, for the first time, two years after he was found guilty of the offence. Butt, along with fast bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir, was banned from the sport by the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2011 after being found guilty for spot fixing during the Lord's Test against England the previous year. The trio and their agent Mazhar Majeed were also jailed by an English court in 2011. The players were released last year. Butt was the captain in the Lord's test when Amir and Asif bowled predetermined no-balls, and later it was revealed that all three players had connections with, Mazhar Majeed.



India wary of West Indies threat- 2013

"What is very important for us is not to look too far ahead," Dhoni said.
 AFP

Exactly one week after clinching the Champions Trophy in a dramatic, rain-affected finale in Birmingham, undisputed world one-day champions India take on a confident West Indies team on Sunday at Sabina Park in the second match of the Tri-Nation Series.

Fresh from a convincing tournament-opening victory over Sri Lanka at the same venue on Friday, home captain Dwayne Bravo is nevertheless mindful that Mahendra Singh Dhoni's side are an altogether different proposition given their considerable strengths in all departments of the game.

India trounced the West Indies by eight wickets at the group stage of the Champions Trophy, yet Dhoni has been publicly advising caution over the expectation of continuous success, given the different context and different conditions presented by each succeeding competition.

"What is very important for us is not to look too far ahead," he said on the eve of this series. "The demands (of the fans) remain the same. The expectation when it comes to the Indian cricket team has always been the same."

In conditions quite similar to what they are accustomed to at home, the Indians are not expected to tinker too much with a combination that proved so successful in England.

They will obviously be conscious of the ever-present threat of rain at this time of the year in the Caribbean in determining their final eleven, although the inclement weather thankfully stayed away for the West Indies' six-wicket whipping of Sri Lanka, a result that also brought them a potentially crucial bonus point.

Bravo effectively set the stage for this impending showdown immediately after the win on Friday in urging Jamaican fans to turn up in huge numbers for a clash that offers the prospect of a number of appetising possibilities, not least the continuation of the match-winning form shown by hometown hero Chris Gayle.

His 109 turned a potentially tricky target against the Sri Lankans into a canter.

Yet the West Indies are acutely aware that in the likes of Virat Kohli and rising star Shikhar Dhawan, the Indians have the sort of firepower to respond in kind, suggesting that the often overlooked bowlers on both sides may be the ones making the critical inputs in this eagerly anticipated duel.

Friday 28 June 2013

Pakistan to tour West Indies for 5 ODIs, two T20Is

By Indo Asian News Service | IANS India Private Limited – 18 hours ago

The series will also mark the return of international cricket to Guyana after a one year absence.

St. John's (Antigua), June 28: The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has released the schedule for Pakistan's tour of the Caribbean starting July 14.
The series will include five One Day Internationals and two Twenty20 Internationals.
Guyana will host the first two ODIs, followed by three ODIs at the Beausejour Cricket Grounds in St. Lucia.
The Arnos Vale Cricket Ground in St. Vincent will host the two Twenty20 Internationals July 27 and 28 to conclude the tour.
The series will also mark the return of international cricket to Guyana after a one year absence.
"This has been a bumper year for international cricket in the Caribbean. We have had a full series with West Indies and Zimbabwe and the Celkon Mobile Cup including India and Sri Lanka is about to commence," said WICB corporate communications officer Imran Khan Thursday.
"The seven match series involving Pakistan will give fans, especially cricket starved fans in Guyana, more international cricket action to rally behind the West Indies team."
SCHEDULE:
GUYANA
Bourda Cricket Ground
Thursday July 11 - Pakistan 50 over warm up game (opposition TBC)
Guyana National Stadium, Guyana
Sunday July 14 - First ODI
Tuesday July 16 - Second ODI
ST LUCIA
Beausejour Cricket Grounds, St Lucia
Friday July 19 - Third ODI
Sunday July 21 - Fourth ODI
Wednesday July 24 - Fifth ODI
ST VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES
Arnos Vale Cricket Ground, St Vincent
Saturday July 27 - First Twenty20 International
Sunday July 28 - Second Twenty20 International

Thursday 20 June 2013

CT NEWS: India thump Lanka to enter final

Comprehensive eight-wicket win helps Men in Blue through to title clash.

Another fifty for Dhawan.
CARDIFF: India passed their first test of genuine English conditions on an overcast Thursday evening as they seamed out Sri Lanka by eight wickets to enter their third Champions Trophy final.

After restricting Lanka to 181/8 through a combination of astute swing and spin, India romped home with 15 overs to spare as Shikhar Dhawan continued his impressive run with 68 and Virat Kohli hastened the inevitable with a blistering unbeaten 58.

Dhawan was reprieved by captain Angelo Mathews at slip when he had scored 18 - a costly miss - and he went on to smash his second half-century of the tournament, to go with the two centuries he plundered in the first couple of matches.

Kohli then reeled in victory in a great hurry, peppering his fifty with disdainful boundaries against Sri Lanka's trump card Lasith Malinga and a towering six off leggie Jeevan Mendis, the last 50 runs of the chase coming in just five overs.

India will face hosts England in Sunday’s final – arguably the two best sides over the last fortnight meeting for the title – with an unblemished record of four wins in as many matches.

Sri Lanka’s paltry total was an outcome of an overall good bowling show in conditions fostering movement in the air. Man of the match Ishant Sharma and off-spinner R. Ashwin picked up three wickets each, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja exercised marked control and economy.

Crucial toss

A wet outfield delayed the start by some thirty minutes with India assured of making the final in case of a wash-out, on account of having topped their league group. As it happened, they took the honorable path into the title clash.

Movement away from the left-hander spelled early doom after Dhoni elected to field. And such was seam's dominance that the captain himself forsook the big gloves to have a bowl, as Dinesh Karthik did duty behind the stumps. 

Ishant revels

Bhuvneshwar drew first blood by snaring Kusal Perera (4) on the outside edge. Ishant then aimed one across Lahiru Thirimane (7) for Raina's second catch at second slip. The lanky fast bowler followed it up anther slanter to Kumar Sangakkara (17), who looked utterly displeased at being lured into what became Raina's third catch.

Sri Lanka's 41/3 after 18 was rendered worse as it came after Tillakaratne Dilshan's fifth-over retirement. Mahela Jayawardene (38) and Angelo Mathews (51) made a slow progress to normalcy, the captain coloring play with a straight six off Ishant's good length ball.

Dhoni bowls

The introduction of Jadeja and - would you believe it! - Dhoni's leg cutters eased the pressure somewhat. Dhoni appeared to have struck second ball as he trapped Jayawardene on the backfoot. 

But the indignant Sri Lankan was acquitted on the review, which revealed a thick inside edge on to the pad. Mathews too survived after a successful review when replays indicated that Jadeja's delivery would have sizzled over the stumps.

No sooner did Sri Lanka opt for the Batting Powerplay that the 78-run union was severed. Jadeja castled Jayawardene early into the restricted phase as just 12 came from the crucial five overs. 

Ashwin excels

R. Ashwin was now in his groove, a prolonged pause heralding each delivery, and in conjunction with the newly-mustachioed left-arm spinner Jadeja, allowed no space for stroke play. 

Mathews reached fifty and almost on cue perished to the carrom ball with about four overs remaining, Sri Lanka on 158 and going at barely over three per over. 

Dilshan hobbled out after Ashwin bowled Nuwan Kulasekara around his legs and saw the Chennai off-spinner add a third when he had Jeevan Mendis stumped, himself remaining unbeaten on 18.

Perfect chase

India suffered the first jolt when Rohit, until then the epitome of caution, charged Mathews and was bowled for 33 in the 17th over, ending the 77-run opening partnership between him and Dhawan.

The openers had lived dangerously. Rohit edged Kulasekara to the third man fence and survived a huge ‘lbw’ appeal, thanks to an inside edge. Dhawan was all over Malinga before before upper-cutting him magnificently for six.

Dhawan dropped

The dangerous left-hander was dropped on 18 at slip by Mathews off Nuwan Kulasekara. In the next over, Rohit’s edge off Perera fell just short of first slip, as India reached exactly 40 after the mandatory Powerplay.

Dhawan was finally out when he failed to read Mendis' googly, with India needing 41 to win in 18 overs. Kohli, whose mastery of Malinga was apparent yet again, switched gears and guided India to victory with 90 balls to spare. Malinga went for a wicket-less 54 off his eight overs.

Sunday 16 June 2013

CT-2013: ENG VS NZ

won the toss, elected to field.

ENG won by 10 runs

ENGLAND: 169/10 (23.3) RR: 7.19

A Cook 64(47)
J Root 38(40)
K Mills 30/4

NEW ZEALAND: 159/8 (24) RR: 6.62

K Williamson 67(54)
C Anderson 30(24)
J Anderson 32/3
Player of the Match A Cook

ICC CT NEWS-2013 : England fend off NZ, enter semifinals

CARDIFF: Cook's quick 64 sets up 10-run win in rain-hit game.


England put a ball-tampering row behind them to book their place in the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy with a 10-run win over New Zealand in Cardiff on Sunday.

New Zealand, chasing 170 for victory in a match reduced by rain to 24 overs per side, were held by the tournament hosts to 159 for eight.

Victory saw England, yet to win a major 50-over tournament, into the last four as one of two qualifiers out of Group A after their build-up for this match was overshadowed by ball-tampering allegations made against them by former captain Bob Willis.

If Sri Lanka beat champions Australia in Monday's final Group A fixture at The Oval they will also feature in a last four that already includes Group B winners India and runners-up South Africa.

New Zealand could yet reach the semi-finals themselves if Australia win but fail to do so by a large enough margin to better the Black Caps' net run-rate.

James Anderson, who finished with three wickets for 32 runs in five overs, reduced New Zealand to 14 for two by dismissing openers Luke Ronchi and Martin Guptill in the same over.

Medium-pacer Ravi Bopara, in overcast conditions assisting seamers, took two for 26 in five overs.

England captain Alastair Cook, the man-of-the-match, was dropped three times by Nathan McCullum on his way to top-scoring with 64 in a total of 169 all out.

Off-spinner Nathan McCullum finally clung on to a return offering from his own bowling to dismiss left-handed opener Cook.

This victory also meant England won their 'decider' with New Zealand after they triumphed 2-1 in a one-day series in New Zealand earlier this year before the Black Caps turned the table by the same margin in a series in England in the run-up to the Champions Trophy.

Kane Williamson kept New Zealand hopes alive with a 48-ball fifty completed when he struck Anderson for his seventh four before lofting Tim Bresnan for six.

Suddenly, New Zealand needed 36 to win off 18 balls with five wickets left.

But Williamson then holed out off Stuart Broad for 67, although the paceman had a worrying few moments before a review for a tight no-ball call went in his favour.

And 135 for six became 140 for seven when Corey Anderson, making his one-day international debut, was caught by Anderson off Bresnan.

That left New Zealand 140 for seven and needing 30 to win off 10 balls.

Anderson wrapped up victory by having Nathan McCullum caught behind off the final delivery of the match.

After New Zealand won the toss, Ian Bell was out when Brendon McCullum held a superb catch at short extra-cover off Mitchell McClenaghan.

And 16 for one became 25 for two when Jonathan Trott, chipped Mills straight to Nathan McCullum, Brendon's older brother, at mid-wicket.

Trott's exit gave Mills his 25th Champions Trophy wicket, surpassing the competition record of retired Sri Lanka off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan.

James Franklin almost struck first ball when Cook pulled him to mid-wicket only for Nathan McCullum to drop the chance.

Left-hander Cook drove Franklin for six and flicked him over his shoulder for a four.

But Franklin almost had him again only for Nathan McCullum to drop a juggled chance at mid-wicket.

Nathan McCullum then put down a relatively easy catch when, at backward point, he dropped Cook's cut off Williamson.

by AFP

Saturday 15 June 2013

CT-2013: PAK VS IND SCOREBOARD


 

 

won the toss, elected to field.

IND won by 8 wkts (D/L Method).

PAK : 165/10 Overs: 39.4 R:R: 4.15

A Shafiq 41(57)
U Amin 27(26)
B Kumar 19/2

IND : 102/2 overs: 19.2 R:R : 5.32

S Dhawan 48(41)
V Kohli 22*(27)
W Riaz 20/1
Player of the Match B Kumar

ICC CT NEWS-2013 : Spotless India thrash Pakistan

MS Dhoni's team make it three in three with big win over old foes.
Nathulal continues his rampage.

BIRMINGHAM: Title favourites India overcame devious English weather to wallop old foes Pakistan by eight wickets in yet another drizzle-sodden, and perchance inconsequential, Champions Trophy match on Saturday night.

India thus kept intact their spotless league record, rattling up three wins in as many games, and are on a confidence boost going into the knock out stages of what is the last edition of the tournament.

It mattered very little to the local Asian diaspora that MS Dhoni's side were already in the semis, and Misbah ul Haq's out of contention. They turned up in numbers and waited patiently through several rain interruptions and numerous Duckworth-Lewis-assisted reworkings of overs and targets. 

They were rewarded not with the famed sub-continental needle, but with what was expected of the encounter: India’s overall strength proving too strong for the might of Pakistan’s unreal bowling attack, which has often failed to transcend the sludge of its batting mire. 

India, for their part, were in full flow, first shooting out Pakistan to 165 all out in 39.4 of the rain-permitted 40 overs, and gunning down the perpetually modified target without so much as a rivulet of figurative sweat trickling down an equally figurative forehead – not that there was any chance of that in the prevailing chill of a purported English ‘summer’.

All round show

Pakistan's deflation after Dhoni sent them in was catalyzed equally by swing bowler and Man of the Match Bhuvneshwar Kumar, off-spinner R. Ashwin and left-armer Ravindra Jadeja, who picked up two apiece, and by an electric performance in the field by a young, athletic outfit. 

That done, opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan blazed India ahead with a rasping 48, holding his nerve through interruptions and getting out two short of what would have been a deserved half-century. Dhawan and Sharma were earlier eyeing their third consecutive century stand when the latter clipped Mohammad Hafeez to a leaping Misbah at midwicket. 

India, then on 63/1 in 11.3, were in pursuit of 157 in 36 overs, but a couple of mild downpours later were left with 39 to get from 10.3 – all very logical and rationale-backed and mathematical, one would assume! There was no trouble from then on, only the matter of how flagrantly Dinesh Karthik and Virat Kohli attained victory: it was done with the cushion of 17 balls remaining. 

Rocked early

Aided by a couple of rain disruptions India were earlier superlative in what was ultimately designated to be a 40-over innings. Dhoni had a ringside view of most of the early action since it was confined to behind the wicket.

Bhuvneshwar swung one away from Nasir Jamshed that took the edge on its way to Suresh Raina at second slip. 

The first resumption was marked by the termination of Mohammad Hafeez, who, having struck five crisp boundaries, swished distractedly outside off for Dhoni to take a smart low catch and Bhuvneshwar’s second wicket.

Kamran Akmal had not looked especially comfortable out there opening. He was done in on an expansive and unsuccessful off-drive drive against Ashwin’s off-spin, the inside edge that whizzing off Dhoni’s knee to be held by an alert Kohli at slip.

Shot out

Sir Jadeja soon made his presence felt, darting in an angular, flat delivery onto a shuffling Misbah’s leg stump. Asad Shafiq played Ishant Sharma down the legside to Dhoni and was discovered, to his dismay, to have edged the ball. Shoaib Malik could only grin and review in vain a plumb leg before against Jadeja.

Pakistan, like they did in their previous two matches, caved in, which is not to take anything away from India. Ashwin ripped out Wahab Riaz’s stump, off the glove, with a snarling off-spinner, Virat Kohli collected, tumbled and rattled in a direct hit, Rohit snapped up a low chance.


Young southpaw Umar Amin stood alone at the end with an unbeaten 27, watching his team fail to last the full quota and crumble to 165 in 39.4 overs. It was too little, even for the tournament’s best bowling outfit, especially when up against its strongest batting line up.


source: cricket.yahoo.com

Friday 14 June 2013

CT-2013: SA vs WI scoreboard



 

won the toss and elected to field

Match Result: Tied.

SA : 230/6 Overs: 31 R:R: 7.41

C Ingram 73(63)
D Miller 38(29))
D Bravo 43/2

WI : 190/6 Overs: 26.1 R:R : 7.26

M Samuels 48(38))
C Gayle 36(27))
D Steyn 33/2

ICC CT NEWS-2013 :South Africa in semis after thrilling tie

West Indies heart-broken in rain-ravaged match.
Ingram hits top form.

CARDIFF:  For once the boot was on the other foot. South Africa, making unprecedented history, tied with the West Indies in what was a virtual, rain-ravaged quarterfinal of the Champions Trophy, but progressed into the knockouts courtesy of a superior Net Run Rate in the league stage.

It was all rather  tragic-comic. And considering their fate in weather-hit, must-win encounters involving the use of math and equations, you'd have been forgiven for disbelieving that the Proteas actually came out on top in a game of twists and turns and vexatious interruptions. 

They join India at the business end of the tournament as the top two sides from Group 'B', with an inconsequential yet highly anticipated game between India and Pakistan to be played.

Pollard's mistake

Chasing an impressive 230/6 in 31 overs, the West Indies found themselves in genuine contention: within 41 runs of the target and with four overs to get them. At that stage, the Carribeans were on 190/5, three ahead of the par score and would have happily marched into the last-four had the rain come down exactly then.

As fate would have it, there was still time for another ball before the skies opened up for the millionth time on the evening; and that solitary delivery, bowled by seamer Ryan McLaren and off which Kieron Pollard played a shot of brazen irresponsibility, cost the Windies a place in the semis as the par score was yanked up on account of the extra dismissal.

It was bucketing down by now and after all the drama and disappointment South Africa found themselves home and dry and into the semis, thanks to opener Colin Ingram’s 73 and cameos of varying length and intensity from David Miller, Faf du Plessis and AB de Villiers. 

Dale Steyn, returning after injury, was outstanding as he gave away just 33 six overs and bowled the rampaging Marlon Samuels at a crucial juncture.

Gayle misfires

As is often the case, the chase was being made out to be a battle between Chris Gayle and Steyn, who had recovered fully from the side-strain that kept him out of the first two matches. Gayle (36) decided to play the waiting game, shepherding the score to 49 for the loss of Johnson Charles in ten overs, before he shrugged off his languor with a sequence of big shots against JP Duminy’s off-breaks.

Having smashed seamer Chris Morris for four, the hulking opener chopped the bowler straight to point for an easy catch by du Plessis. Dwayne Smith was sent off via a brilliant review of a turned down leg-before appeal that led to reversal of the original decision, off the bowling of left-arm spinner Robin Peterson, in the 15th over of the chase. 

Samuels show

Rain came down as if on cue and another break was enforced, this time, thankfully, without a reworked target. The Proteas madeanother breakthrough when Hashim Amla's brilliant work at the deep mid-wicket boundary caused Darren Bravo's run out.

But if South Africa through it was all over but for the shouting, Marlon Samuels had different plans. 

In a terrifying sequence of hitting, Samuels struck 6, 4, 4, 6, 4, 4 off McLaren and Peterson bringing the West Indies right back in the hunt, needing 85 off the last ten overs. Steyn, however, uprooted Samuels' middle stump in an expensive over that went for 14. Pollard took on the mantle of scoring. He succeeded, only to fall to his instinct of going for the big shot when it was not really needed. 

Delayed start

A steady drizzle first reduced the game to 36 overs a side and then, just after Dwayne Bravo had elected to field, it poured some more. Amla and Ingram finally walked out for a 31-overs per team contest, and provided a solid 80-run partnership that was dominated by the southpaw. 

The openers often had to fend off deliveries in the region of 150 kmph from Tino Best, who was playing for the ill Kemar Roach; but pace is pointless without direction and Amla powered him with ease through the legside, before being splayed by a vicious yorker that caught the bat end on its way to jamming his toes. 

Ingram dealt with the predictably short fare from Ravi Rampaul with a series of confident pulls and then edged Sunil Narine, who was introduced in the last over of the Powerplay, fortuitously wide of slip.

Super sixes

The engineer of the most dot balls in this tournament was then lofted out of the park. Ingram repeated the shot in Darren Sammy’s first over – a monstrous shot back over the bowler’s head – and brought up his half-century in 46 balls with a masterly pulled four, as South Africa reached 100 in the 15th over.

West Indies tasted first success when Amla was taken by Chris Gayle, third attempt at short cover, off Marlon Samuels’ first ball. Ingram had survived a few edges through and wide of slip – he was eventually out to Kieron Pollard’s slower ball with score on 124.

New man JP Duminy soon followed suit gloving a Dwayne Bravo bouncer foolishly down the leg-side to the ‘keeper.

Miller entertains

When Best returned, de Villiers (37) used his prodigious pace to help him over fine-leg for six and speared a full-toss through cover for four. 

De Villiers ominous stay was abruptly ended when Darren Bravo – body perpendicular to terra firma – snatched an absolute blinder at mid-wicket.

South Africa had now lost three relatively quick and key wickets. But David Miller (38) and Faf du Plessis (35) brought them back on track with a hurtling 68-run stand in just eight overs. Miller struck Powerplay sixes off Pollard and Bravo as 51 came in the last five. Both young Turks were out in the last over, by when the damage had been done. 

source: crickeet.yahoo.com

Thursday 13 June 2013

CT-2013: SL vs ENG SCOREBOARD


SL vs ENG  

 

SL won the toss, elected to field.

SL won by 7 Wickets.

ENGLAND: 293/7 Overs: 50 R:R: 5.86

J Trott 76(87)
J Root 68(55)
R Herath 46/2

SL : 297/3 overs: 47.1 R:R : 6.29

K Sangakkara 134(135)
N Kulasekara 58(38)
J Anderson 51/2
Player of the Match K Sangakkara

ICC CT NEWS-2013 : Lankan win splits open Group 'A'

Sangakkara, Kulasekara reel in rousing triumph over England.

15th ODI ton for Sangakkara.
LONDON: Kumar Sangakkara's unbeaten 134 and the brainwave to promote fast bowler Nuwan Kulasekara to No.5 featured prominently in Sri Lanka's rousing seven-wicket win over England, on Thursday night.

Dismissed for a humiliating total in their first game versus New Zealand and racing after England's imposing 293/7 to stay alive in the tournament, Sri Lanka completed the task with 17 balls to spare, opening up a world of possibilities in Group 'A'.

The Kiwis, with three points, are currently on top of the cluster; England and Sri Lanka follow on two points apiece; while Australia are the laggards of the group with a solitary point. 

Each team has a game in hand which makes it likely that calculators may have to be pressed into service if Australia defeat Sri Lanka - irrespective of what transpires in the England-New Zealand fixture.

Kula 'shaker'

Their big three came to the party right in time for the Islanders. Sangakkara piloted the chase to perfection, first with old warhorses Tillakratane Dilshan (44) and Mahela Jayawardene (42) and then with Kulasekara, who blasted a 38-ball 58 after he was unexpectedly promoted with Lanka needing 107 off the last 15 overs.

Kulasekara's smashed disdainful sixes off Graeme Swann and Stuart Broad to destroy the contest, and would have made England rue a missed run-out chance that could have sent him packing early in his knock.

England had earlier made the most of Lanka's fielding lapses to reach an impressive total as Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott and Joe Root contributed half-centuries and Ravi Bopara took 28 off Shaminda Eranga's last over of the innings. Unfortunately, for the hosts, it all came to naught, and now they have to win their last match against New Zealand to ensure a place in the last four.

Slow start

Sri Lanka had a far from ideal start to their pursuit, but propped themselves up on a string of partnerships, all spearheaded by the dashing Sangakkara. 

Ninety-two were collected with Dilshan and 85 with Mahela Jayawardene. Dilshan sought to check his slow start by targeting Root, England's fifth bowler who had earlier starred with a quick fifty, but was caught at long-on when he tried to force the pace against Swann's off-spin.

Jayawardene's stay was a delightful collection of hits off Broad, undoubtedly the most expensive of England's bowlers.

Just when these two were pulling Lanka nearer home, Jayawardene pulled James Anderson to square-leg, where substitute Johnny Bairstow took a good catch. But the move to promote Kulasekara turned out to be the tipping point.

Cook's fifty

Making the most of Sri Lanka's lapses in the field, Trott (76), Alastair Cook (59) and Joe Root (68) formed the cornerstone of England's 293-7 after they were sent in to bat by.

The ease with which the home team gathered runs was at all points suggestive of a big total. But Sri Lanka, who needed to win the match to stay alive in the tournament, knocked out four wickets for five runs to make it 254-7 in the 48th over.

It was a false dawn, for Ravi Bopara came in and smashed Eranga to smithereens, his three sixes and two boundaries restoring England to a position of advantage. 

Costly drops

Cook, who was dropped twice by the normally alert Dilshan, collaborated with Trott for 83 following Ian Bell's exit playing a horrible shot off Eranga. 

England's captain and Trott, similar in their preference for gradual accumulation, were also out in similar fashion: leg-before trying to sweep left-arm spinner Rangana Herath.

Meanwhile, Joe Root - the victim of David Warner's "unprovoked physical attack" - appeared to have recovered entirely from his recent grievous experience as he struck five sweet fours in a brisk half-century.

Big hitting

Root lent crucial impetus, his fifty taking up just 43 balls as England reached 201-2 at the end of 40 overs, thanks to an 87-run stand between Trott and Root.

Three wickets fell with the score on 249. Slinger Lasith Malinga had Root caught on the square-leg fence and trapped Eoin Morgan leg-before (a highly dubious decision!) off successive balls, before seamer Nuwan Kulasekara removed Jos Buttler for a second-ball duck.

But Bopara tore into Eranga's 50th over, clearing the ropes three times and ensuring England finished in the vicinity of 300 - a walk in the park once Kulasekara's found his range.


source: cricket.yahoo.com