Poor batting display in 2nd ODI may hurt India badly

Once again the famed batting lineups collapse like a pack of card. Except M.S.Doni and R.P.Singh no batsmen showed maturity and patience of staying at the wicket and that cost not only the match but it can also hurt India badly if they will lose the series being 1-0 up after first game.

From 82/8 no one has thought that India will post 189 runs target to West Indies but thanks to valiant effort from R.P.Singh despite of being a bowler he showed maturity and stayed at the wickets almost till the end of Indian innings. He and Dhoni put on record partnership for the 9th wicket to give some respectability to the Indian total.

M.S.Dhoni was involved in a 101-run stand for the ninth wicket with RP Singh, who chipped in with a valuable 23 runs. It was the fifth instance of a ninth-wicket pair putting on a century-partnership, and it saved India's blushes after they were in danger of being bowled out for under three figures.
189 runs target was always going to be tough or we can say impossible for the Indian bowlers to defend such totals on a flat wicket. In the end West Indies achieve the target with the loss of just two wickets and 89 balls to spare.

In the post match conference Dhoni did admitted that his batsmen misread the pitch which cost them match. Now India have to win remaining two matches if they would like to lift the Digicel ODI Cup for the second time in the history.

Earlier after winning the toss M.S.Dhoni has no hesitation in electing to bat first, but it was all different story in the 2nd over of Indian inning. The comeback man Ravi Rampaul bowled an exceptional spell to reduce the Indian score to 7/3 in the 2nd over. Then Dhoni and Yuvraj tried to steady the Indian innings and when the pair looks threatening for West Indies, J.Taylor remove dangerous looking Yuvraj Singh (33 runs of 32 balls) to bring West Indies back on track.

Ravi Rampual completed his quota of 10 overs with his career best figure of 4 for 37. J.Taylor and D.Bravo also chipped in with three wickets each.

M.S.Dhoni top scored for India with 95 runs of 130 balls.

Ravi Rampaul was declared Player-of-the-Match.

Now India will take on West Indies on 3rd of July and 5th of July at St.Luica.

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India v West Indies 2nd ODI at Kingston – India look to keep their winning momentum going

Indian team knows they survived a scare in the first ODI at Sabina Park, Kingston, having taken a 1-0 lead in four match series they need to maintain the same level of intensity which they have showed in past to take an unbeatable lead of 2-0. West Indies is suddenly not an easy team to beat in their backyards. Past records are also in favour of West Indies where India manage just one series win on last five tours.

India somehow manage to win first ODI’s by the margin of 20 runs at Kingston, Jamaica after setting a mammoth total of 339/6 on the board. Who have though that West Indies needing 75 runs in last eight overs with three wickets in hand will reach that much closer?

Indian captain MS Dhoni did not appear to be a happy man as he shook hands with the West Indian batsmen after the game and in post match presentation also he indicated that his boys has thought that game was in their bag in the 42nd over and that was the big mistakes for his team. It was Ashish Nehra who bagged two crucial wickets in the end that save India from loosing the game after dominating the game for almost 42nd over of West Indian innings.

Indian team has few sign of concern, first is how to handle the short pitch stuff from West Indian pace attacks and second is their bowling department. Ishant Sharma looks really way wards with his line and length. In batting also India need to shot out the issue very quickly because is such short series you don’t have too much time to bounce back.

Bowling in the slog overs continued to remain an area of concern for India as home side was in the game till the end despite the tourists plucking seven wickets in 40 overs. They conceded 29 runs in extras.

West Indies did well to get so close to a monstrous target but they could have done better and pulled off a stunning chase if one of their top-order batsmen played a long innings. Four batsmen Gayle Morton, Srawan and Chanderpaul really started well but they didn’t batted till end otherwise the results could have been different for West Indies.

Watch out for

Yuvraj Singh: A man on mission. In the absence of Sehwag, Sachin and Raina he has taken the entire burden on his shoulders and that showed in the previous game. With his team 32/2 he showed his calm and collectiveness and in the end he showed how dangerous he can be when he is in full flow.

Chris Gayle: He has given his team a perfect start in the last game but didn’t carry his inning longer and that was the reason West Indies fail short by 20 runs. His hard hitting ability can be seen once again at flat Sabina Park.

Pitch & Condition

The pitch at Sabina Park, Kingston will be good wicket for batting and once again team winning the toss would love to bat on the wicket. As we have seen in the last game with short boundaries it was easy for both the teams to hit sixes and we can expect more in today’s encounter. Any score above 300 plus will be defendable total on this wicket.

Teams

India may opt to go with Praveen Kumar instead of expensive Ishant Sharma. Otherwise rest of the team looks settled.

West Indies captain Chris Gayle may opt for Ravi Rampaul instead of Lionel Baker who was not impressive in the last game.

Likely Playing XI for both Teams (Match is Schedule to begin at 20:00 PM India Time)

India Squad: Gautam Gambhir, Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni (Captain & WK), Yuvraj Singh, S Badrinath, Yusuf Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Praveen Kumar, RP Singh, Ashish Nehra.

West Indies Squad: Chris Gayle (Captain), Runako Morton, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Dwayne Bravo, Darren Bravo, Denesh Ramdin (WK), Jerome Taylor, Ravi Rampaul, Suleiman Benn, Ravi Rampaul

Stats

There was total 23 sixes hit in the last game and that was the most number of sixes hit in a game in West Indies.

Yuvraj Singh blistering 131 was the second highest score by a batsman in West Indies.

J.Taylor figures of 1 for 74 were his most expensive spell in one day international.

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India win high scoring thriller against West Indies at Jamaica

Who have thought that West Indies will reach as closer as 319 runs in reply to India 339/6? At end of 42nd Over of West Indian innings the match almost looks like in the hands of India with West Indies requiring another 75 runs in the last 8 overs with three wickets in hand.But West Indies wicket keeper batsman Dinesh Ramdin (29 runs of 26 balls) and D.Bernard (19 runs of 20 balls) kept West Indies in hunt with 44 runs partnership of just 32 balls for the eighth wicket before comeback man Ashish Nehra removed Bernard to bring India right back into the game. He also removed Dinesh Ramdin to close the match for India.No body thoughts that West Indies lower order batsman will fight till the end. Despite of loosing wickets at regular Interval they were always ahead of India scores. But in the end it was Yuvraj inning that made the difference. With help of Yuvraj Singh brilliance India collected 62 runs without loosing a wicket in batting powerplay on the other hand West Indies manage 36 runs for the lost of three wickets in their batting powerplay and in the end this was the vital difference between two teams.Earlier after electing to bat first India were struggling at 32/2in the 8th over. Once again Indian top orders were tested by short pitch stuff from West Indies pace attack. After giving India a steady start opener Gautam Gambhir (13 runs of 14 balls) and Rohit Sharma (4 runs of 12 balls) got out by short pitch delivery.Yuvraj Singh joined D.Karthik to rebuild the innings from 32 for 2. His approach made up for the absence of Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Suresh Raina and allayed fears of weakness in the batting order. Yuvraj revived the Indian innings by adding 135 with Karthik for the third wicket and then 86 runs in just 57balls with Captain M.S.Dhoni(41 runs of 46balls), both partnership that laid the platform for only the second ODI total in excess of 300 in Jamaica.In the end Yusuf Pathan (40 runs of 38balls) and Harbhajan Singh (19 runs of 13balls) played well to get pass India total close to350 runs mark.

Yuvraj Singh was declared Player of the Match for his blistering knock of 131 runs of just 102 balls.

Match Summary (India won by 20 Runs)

India – 339/6 in 50 Overs
Yuvraj Singh- 131 Dinesh Karthik– 67

D. Bravo– 10-0-66-2 D.Bernard- 8-0-50-1
West Indies– 319/10 in 48.1 Overs

S.Chanderpaul- 63 R.Srawan– 45

Ashish Nehra– 7.1-0-49-3 Yusuf Pathan- 8-0-56-3

India v West Indies 1st ODI Highlights

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India v West Indies 1st ODI Kingston – India look to regain the lost pride

India who faced debacle after an early exit from world twenty20 is now ready to face the next task on their hand that is to beat West Indies in West Indies. It will be not as easy as it looks for M.S.Dhoni and his men. India have only manage to won a single series (2001-02 under captaincy of S.Ganguly) so far of their last five tours. India will be desperate to avenge their recent defeat against the West Indies in World twenty20 Super Eights in this four match ODI Series.

India who is playing without some of their key players is hopeful of good show in Caribbean. Dhoni is confidant that his team packed with all rounders in Yusuf Pathan and Ravindra Jadeja besides the likes of star batsmen Yuvraj Singh, Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma would do better in West Indies.


India who lost there all Super Eights game would love to start the series with a win to boost their confidence and morale. On the other hand West Indies who manage to reach up to Semi Final of world twenty20 is flying high with confidence and West Indies captain Chris Gayle is confidant that his team will do well against weekend Indian team.

Irrespective of their recent Super Eight match win over India in the Twenty20 World Cup in England, the West Indies apprehend that the Indians will be "a handful in the Caribbean".
In the absence of Tendulkar and Sehwag, India will rely on Gambhir, Yuvraj and Dhoni to do bulk of scoring in batting department while in bowling they will feel good with return of experienced Ashish Nehra in the team. In the absence of Zaheer Khan, he is the most experience bowlers after Harbhajan Singh to lead the pace bowling attacks along with R.P.Singh and Ishant Sharma.

Watch out for

Ashish Nehra: He last played for India in 2005 and who has thought that after long gap he will make comeback to the International side and why not he has done justice to himself by performing exceptionally well in IPL. He was the third-highest wicket-taker with 19 at 18.21 each. It will be interesting to see how he approaches his first game after long break from his International career.


Chris Gayle: He may have failed to lead his team to twnty20 triumph but he has performed exceptionally well with his bat in any format of the game in recent times. He is one of most destructive players at top of the order. His approach to this game is nothing different than twenty20 at top of the order.


Pitch & Condition

Kingston wicket is expected to be on slower side with little bounce on the wicket however early moistures will help a ball little bit to move in the air and it will be good for bowlers like Nehra, R.P.Singh. Any team winning the toss would love to have a bowl first and try to resctrict the opposition below 250 runs.

Teams

After a dismal performance in twenty20, India will be eyeing to settle some score against West Indies. With absence of some of their star players like Tendulkar, Sehwag, Raina and Zaheer it will be good opportunity for some of the younger’s player like Badrinath, Abhishek Nayar and comeback man Ashish Nehra. India is likely to go into the match with three pace trio R.P.Singh, Nehra and I.Sharma. Badrinath, Vijay and Nayar is likely to sit out from this game because of their late arrivals.

West Indies team selection for the first ODI’s really raise eyebrows of few peoples by omitting L.Simmons and D.Sammy from the squad. However it is good chance for R.Morton and Darren Bravo to show their class against Indian team.

Likely Playing XI for both Teams (Match is Schedule to begin at 20:00 PM India Time)

India Squad: Gautam Gambhir, Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni (Captain & WK), Yuvraj Singh, S Badrinath, Yusuf Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Ishant Sharma, RP Singh, Ashish Nehra.

West Indies Squad: Chris Gayle (Captain), Runako Morton, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Dwayne Bravo, Darren Bravo, Denesh Ramdin (WK), Jerome Taylor, Ravi Rampaul, Suleiman Benn, Lionel Baker.

Stats

So far on West Indies tour India have only won one ODI Series that is in 2001/02 Series under the captaincy of Saurav Ganguly.

From 1983-2006 tour, India have played 20 One Day International and won just 5 and lost 15 one day international.

In 2009, India have played 10 ODI’s in which they have won 7 and lost two one day internationals. On the other hand West Indies have played 11 ODI’s and have won just three while lost 7 ODI’s.

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India tour of West Indies 2009 Schedule

Just after the completion of 2nd edition of twenty20 World Cup in England, Indian team will tour Caribbean for four match ODI series against the West Indies. The first two ODI's of the series will be played in Jamaica while next two ODI's will be played in St Lucia.

India will play their first one day international on 26th June 2009. And the rest of three one day internationals will be played on 28th June, 3rd July and 5th July 2009.

All the matches will be telecast in India by Tensports TV Channel.

India Vs West Indies Schedule (All timing are mentioned in GMT+05:30)


Timing Teams Venue

Fri 26 Jun
19:00 PM 1st ODI – India v West Indies Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica


Sun 28 Jun
19:00 PM 2nd ODI – India v West Indies Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica


Fri 3 Jul
19:00 PM 3rd ODI – India v West Indies Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia



Sun 5 Jul
19:00 PM 4th ODI – India v West Indies Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia



Indian Squad: MS Dhoni (Captain/WK), Yuvraj Singh, Gautam Gambhir, Rohit Sharma, Harbhajan Singh, Pragyan Ojha, Yusuf Pathan, M Vijay, S Badrinath, RP Singh, Praveen Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Abhishek Nayar, Ashish Nehra, Ravindra Jadeja, Dinesh Karthik (WK).


West Indies Squad for first two ODI's:Chris Gayle (Captain), Denesh Ramdin (WK), Lionel Baker, Darren Bravo, Dwayne Bravo, Sulieman Benn, David Bernard, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Narsingh Deonarine, Runako Morton, Ravi Rampaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Jerome Taylor.

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No place for inaugural Twenty20 Winner in ICC World twenty20 XI

Former World twenty20 Champions India faced another decline in world cricket when ICC announced the best twenty20 XI with no player from India. The ICC on Monday named its eleven and not surprisingly, after losing three consecutive matches in the Super Eights, no Indian player made the cut.

In the best XI picked by ICC, four players from Pakistan, three from South Africa, two players from each West Indies and Sri Lanka is included in the squad. Younis Khan was named captain for the team announced by ICC.

However, there was one Indian face figuring in the Women's XI announced by ICC and it was that of bowler Rumeli Dhar.

This is really socking news for a M.S.Dhoni and his team which was expected to win the twenty20 2009 world cup.

ICC World XI (Men): Chris Gayle (West Indies), Tillakaratne Dilshan (Sri Lanka), Jacques Kallis (South Africa), AB de Villiers (South Africa), Younis Khan (Pakistan, Captain), Dwayne Bravo (West Indies), Shahid Afridi (Pakistan), Kamran Akmal (Pakistan, Wicketkeeper), Wayne Parnell (South Africa), Umar Gul (Pakistan), Ajantha Mendis (Sri Lanka). 12th man: Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka)

ICC World XI (Women): Shelley Nitschke (Australia), Charlotte Edwards (England, Captain), Claire Taylor (England), Aimee Watkins (New Zealand), Sarah Taylor (England, wicketkeeper), Suzi Bates (New Zealand), Lucy Doolan (New Zealand), Rumeli Dhar (India), Laura Marsh (England), Holly Colvin (England), Sian Ruck (New Zealand). 12th player: Eshani Kaushalya (Sri Lanka).

Younis Khan said bye-bye to Twenty20 Cricket

After leading his team to World cup glory, Pakistan Captain Younis Khan quits twenty20 cricket. Younis Khan used Cricket’s grand stage to announce his retirement from twenty20 Cricket. He said he is not getting younger anymore at 34 he wants to focus only on ODI and Test cricket. Younis dedicated Pakistan's World Twenty20 triumph to his former coach Bob Woolmer, who died during the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean.

Now after his retirement from the shortest version of the game Shahid Afridi, Misbah-ul-Haq and Kamran Akmal is the front runner for leading Pakistan in twenty20 cricket.

Under his captaincy this is for the second time Pakistan able to win major ICC Events after 1992 50-over World Cup.

Md. Ashraful sacked from captaincy Job

Bangladesh Captain has been sacked from the captaincy job after poor show with bat in the recently concluded twenty20 World Cup. His team was also beaten by Ireland at Group stage that didn’t allow Bangladesh to make it to the Super Eights of ICC World Twenty20.

His deputy Mashrafe Mortaza, a fast bowler, is likely to take the Captaincy job.

Md. Yusuf and Abdul Razzak back in Test Squad for Sri Lanka tour

Pakistanis selector on Monday announced the 15 member squad for the tour of Sri Lanka. Stylish right hand batsman Md.Yusuf and Abdul Razzak recalled in the team. But selectors ignored the fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar who was initially ruled out of world twenty20 due to skin infection.

Yousuf, who has played 79 Tests, was delighted to be back. Pakistan cricket team will leave on Saturday to play three test match series followed by five ODI’s and a Twenty20 International.
Shahid Afridi was also not included in the test squad since he wanted some rest before going into ODI series.

Pakistan 15 Member Squad: Younis Khan (Captain), Salman Butt, Khurrum Manzoor, Mohammad Yousuf, Misbah-ul-Haq, Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal (WK), Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Aamir, Danish Kaneria, Abdul Razzaq, Abdul Rauf, Faisal Iqbal, Fawad Alam.

No place for Vaughan and Harmision in England Training Ashes Squad

Michael Vaughan, the former England captain, and Steve Harmison have both been left out of England's pre-Ashes camp ahead of the much-anticipated series against Australia which begins later this month. However England selectors included three spinners Adil Rashid, Panessar and Swann in the squad.

M.Vaughan was expected to make return to international arena but now he may have to wait little longer after selector’s ignorance from Ashes squad.

England selector will pick the final squad on July 6 two days before the first test match.

England Test squad for pre-Ashes camp: Andrew Strauss (Captain), James Anderson, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Paul Collingwood, Alastair Cook, Andrew Flintoff, Graham Onions, Monty Panesar, Kevin Pietersen, Matt Prior, Adil Rashid, Ryan Sidebottom, Graeme Swann.

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Pakistan are ICC World T20 Champions 2009

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Pakistan became the Twenty20 2009 World Cup Champions

The result could not have been better than this for both Pakistan cricket team as well as for their nation. It was not a nail biting final like last time but it has given lots for Pakistani fans to cheer about for years to come. After Imran Khan, Younis Khan became the first captain to lead his team to win a major ICC Events.

This was Pakistan first major title in the 17 years. They last won the major event in 1992 World Cup under captaincy of Imran Khan in Australia.
Chasing the target of 139 runs to win, Pakistan chased down the score easily with six balls to spare to beat Sri Lanka by 8 Wickets and become ICC World Twenty20 Champions. Shahid Afridi once again played a match winning knock of unbeaten 54 runs of 40 balls and picked up one wicket in the game.

From the moment tournament most runs scorer T.Dilshan got out in the first over, Pakistan had a grip on the match. After deciding to bat first Sri Lanka lost their first wicket in the very first over of their inning and that to of Dilshan. From there on they lost their momentum and at one stage they were struggling at 70/6 in the 13th over.
But thanks to skipper Kumar Sangakkara (64 runs of 52 balls) and Angelo Mathews (35 runs of 24 balls) partnership of 68 runs of 42 balls which helped Sri Lanka to put decent fighting total on the board.

Pakistan started their run chase well with opener Kamran Akmal (37 runs of 28 balls) and S.Hasan (19 runs of 23 balls) gave decent start by putting 48 runs in 43 balls before Jayasurya broke through with his first delivery in the next over when he beat Akmal in the air with his left-arm spin and had him stumped for 37 off 28 balls.

M.Muralitharan then removed S.Hasan caught by Jayasurya to give Sri Lanka second breakthrough but Afridi and S.Mallik ensured no further hiccups. Both batted with calm and composure. They have put on unbeaten 76 runs partnership of just 57 balls which took Pakistan home amid loud celebrations from their fans in the stands.

Shahid Afridi was declared Player-of-the-Match for his super all-round performance both with bat and ball.

Tilakratne Dilshan was declared Player-of-the-Series for scoring the 317 runs in seven innings with an average of 52.83.

Umar Gul once again proved that he is the most dangerous bowlers when it comes to twenty20. Like 2007, he once again ended up with most number of wickets in ICC World twenty20 2009 with 13 wickets to his name.

T.Dilshan of Sri Lanka scored the most number of runs in the tournament with 317 runs with an average of 52.83 in seven innings that he has played.

Yuvraj Singh of India hits the most number of sixes (9) in the tournament.

Chris Gayle of West Indies hit the biggest six of the tournament with 105 meters

Match Summary (Pakistan won by 8 Wickets)
Sri Lanka – 138/6 in 20 Overs
K.Sangakkara- 64* Angelo Mathews– 35*
Abdul Razzak– 3-0-20-3 S.Afridi- 4-0-20-1
Pakistan– 139/2 in 18.4 Overs
Shahid Afridi- 54* Kamran Akmal– 37
M.Muralitharan– 3-0-20-1 S.Jayasurya- 2-0-8-1

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Pakistan win ICC T20 Final

Pakistan are the new ICC World Twenty20 champions after easing to a dominant eight-wicket victory over Sri Lanka at Lord's.
A devastating bowling display by Pakistan decimated Sri Lanka's top order, before man-of-the-match Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Malik steered them home in the run chase, reaching the 139 target with eight balls to spare.
Seventeen-year-old opening bowler Mohammad Aamer set the tone for the game with a wicket-maiden first over, taking the scalp of leading run-scorer in the tournament, Tillakaratne Dilshan.
Sri Lanka were in all sorts of trouble at 70-6, but Kumar Sangakkara hit a captain's knock of 64 not out, supplemented by Angelo Mathews who saw out the innings on an unbeaten 35 as Sri Lanka forced their way into the match at 138-6 after their 20 overs.
However, Pakistan looked comfortable throughout with the bat. A quick-fire 37 off 28 balls by Kamran Akmal got the ball rolling, before Afridi and Malik sealed the win.
Afridi hit two sixes on the way to an efficient 54 not out, which came from just 40 deliveries. Malik also played a good innings, giving the strike to Afridi as often as possible and scoring 24 runs himself.
The comfortable victory was particularly sweet for Pakistan as they lost to India in the final of the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 in 2007.

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ICC Twenty 20 World cup final 2009 Pakistan Vs Sri lanka

Pakistan and Sri Lanka will in ICC World T20 final 2009 on 21st June. Both teams have emerged as two great bowling sides. Umar Gul and Saeed Ajmal are two top bowlers with most wickets in the tournament.

Shahid Afridi is showing superb all-round performance.

Ajantha Mendis is still mysterious and Murali is of course always in action.

Pakistan v Sri Lanka - ICC World T20 final, 2009Date: Jun 21 Time : 15:00 local, 14:00 GMT, 19:30 India, 19:00 PakistanVenue : Lords Pakistan has been benefited by individual performance in most of the matches.

In super-8's when they were in do or die situation,Umar Gul took 5 wickets and won the match singly against New Zealand. In semis, Shahid Afridi alone showed all-round performance.

Though bowling has been great, apart from Younis Khan, no batsman has shown the consistency. So, they must play as a team in the final. They require some solid opening.

Time is running out for Shoaib Malik and Misbah-ul-Haq.Sri Lanka are undefeated in the series. Their batsmen are in top form.

They have played beautifully in the series but I find fast bowling as their weakness. They must have some solid opening with the ball.

Chamara Silva alone seems to be a player out of form. Sri Lanka's form and the winning streak signals towards them being ahead but Pakistan are unpredictable and the match is going to be a close encounter.

We can expect a very close and exciting final similar to that of World T20 2007.

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Sri Lanka thrashed West Indies by 57 runs to enter ICC World Twenty20 World Cup 2009 Final

Sri Lanka enters the Final of ICC World Twenty20 in grand style after beating West Indies comprehensively by 57 runs. It will be against Final between two Asian teams like last T20 World Cup where India played Pakistan and this time Sri Lanka will take on Pakistan at Lord’s on June 21st.

T.Dilshan played a brilliant inning of the tournament to guide his team single handedly to par score of 158/5 in their 20 overs. Then a new man with the bowling speed of 80 mph Angelo Mathews picked up three wickets in his very first over of West Indians inning to break the back-bone of West Indies run chase. From 1/3 Bravoin the first over it was almost over for West Indies from there on to achieve the target against the quality bowling attack. Mathews took three for 16 in his four overs.

Chasing the target of 159 runs to win, West Indies inning started disastrously with all top three batters (Xavier Marshall, L.Simmons and D.Bravo) back in the pavilion without troubling the scorer and West Indies scores was 1/3 at the end of first over. Then it was Sri Lankan twin spinners (Murali and Mendis) who done the rest of the damage to West Indian innings by picking up five wickets in between them and conceded just 38 runs in the total eight overs bowled.

Chris Gayle who remained unbeaten on 63 runs of 50 balls was a single batsman who got pass double figure mark. Next highest scorer for West Indies was innings extra with 11 runs.

Earlier, Dilshan's knock was the centerpiece of Sri Lanka's 158 for five. His 57-ball innings, featuring two sixes and 12 fours, was the equal third-best in Twenty20 international history. Only fellow opener Sanath Jayasuriya (24 runs of 37 balls) and Mathews (12 not out of 6 balls) also made it into double figures.

It was only Dilshan inning who gave some respectability to Sri Lankan totals otherwise it could have been different story for them. Other than him no Sri Lankan batsman able to get going, once Jayasurya got out in 11th over it was the start of a collapse that saw two more wickets (K.Sangakara and M.Jayawardne) lost for four runs in eight balls.

At the end of 19th over Sri Lanka were 140/5 but Dilshan and Mathews collected as many as 18 runs in the last over bowled by Gayle to reach a formidable total and which was enough for West Indians.

T.Dilshan was declared Player-of-the-Match for his blistering unbeaten knock of 96 runs of 57 balls.

Match Summary (Sri Lanka won by 57 Runs)

Sri Lanka – 158/5 in 20 Overs

T.Dilshan- 96* Sanath Jayasurya– 24

D.Bravo– 3-0-32-2 K.Pollard- 2-0-14-1

West Indies– 101/10 in 17.4 Overs

Chris Gayle- 63* D.Ramdin– 9

A.Mathews– 4-0-9-3 M.Muralitharan- 4-0-29-3

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Pakistan v South Africa 1st Semi Final of ICC World twenty20 World Cup 2009

1st Semi Final of World Twenty20 will be played at Trent Bridge between two teams that have different approach towards the game. Pakistan more rely on their bowlers to win matches for them while South Africa have mixture of all. Whether it’s bowling, batting or fielding.

South Africa who reached Semi Final without having lost a single game in the tournament will look to continue their winning streak. Many experts already believe that it will be South Africa v Sri Lanka final at Lord’s on 21st June. But it’s too early to say anything in such short format of game. India and Australia who started as tournament favorites already out of competition, so no one can say who will be winner until final bowl bowled on 21st June.

South Africa have been on the roll with their five-match unbeaten streak in the tournament, and they are the favourites to win the title after their emphatic wins against the West Indies, England and holders India in the Super Eight stage. South Africa have been the most balanced side in the tournament. Their batting have come up short twice -- against New Zealand and India -- but on both occasions their bowlers rescued with some clinical performances.

On the other hand Pakistan will rely on Umar Gul to continue his performance for two more games. Umar Gul the leading wicket-taker of the inaugural tournament in South Africa is also the leading wicket takers with 12 wickets this time also and his fellow off-spinner bowler Saeed Ajmal in at second spot with 11 wickets in the tournament.

South Africa with seven successive Twenty20 International victories under the belt -- a world record -- Smith was justified in looking forward to the semifinal with confidence.

Watch out for

Umar Gul: A man master of bowling Yorkers. He is the man on mission for Pakistan with 12 wickets in the tournament and no doubt because of his bowling Pakistan came from strength to strength in each game. When he is song it is great to watch fast bowler knocking the middle stump of batsman.

H.Gibbs: A big match player with big shots in his armory. In recently concluded IPL he has shown what he is capable for in big games. South Africa always known for loosing the crunch game and it happened so many times that now they carry choker’s tag with them but it will be interesting to watch how South African batsman Gibbs approaches this game.

Pitch & Condition

The pitch to be use for 1st Semi Final at Trent Bridge will be new pitch with some green grass on it. So it will not provide much help for the spinners however slow blower will come into play as the game progresses. We can expect a high scoring game with true bounce on the wicket.

Likely Playing XI for both Teams (Match is Schedule to begin at 22:00 PM India Time)

Pakistan Squad: Shahzaib Hassan, Kamran Akmal (WK), Shoaib Malik, Misbah-ul-Haq, Younis Khan (Captain), Abdul Razzaq, Shahid Afridi, Fawad Alam, Umar Gul, Mohammad Aamer, Saeed Ajmal.

South Africa Squad: Graeme Smith (Captain), Jacques Kallis, Herschelle Gibbs, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, A Morkel, M Boucher (WK), Johan Botha, Roelof van der Merwe, Wayne Parnell, Dale Steyn.

Stats

This is for the second straight time that Pakistan able to make it to ICC World Twnety20 Semi Final. Last time they played against New Zealand.

Pakistan and South Africa have six bowlers in the top 10 wicket-takers of the tournament, though Pakistanis occupy the top two spots.

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South Africa beat India in low scoring encounter .

On a pitch which provided lots of help to the spinners South Africa bounce back after scoring 130/5 in their 20 overs to still beat India by 12 runs. This was India third successive defeat in World Twenty20 2009.


Chasing the target of 131 for victory, Indian openers Gambhir (21 runs of 19 balls) and Rohit Sharma (29 runs of 28 balls) gave perfect start to the team by putting on 48 runs in 6 overs but as soon as Graeme Smith introduced the spinners into the attack Indian inning started to collapse. From 48/0 they were suddenly reduced to 69/5 in the 14th over including the run out of M.S.Dhoni.


Now it was up to Yuvraj Singh (25 runs of 25 balls) and Harbhajan Singh (14 runs of 15 balls) to guide their team home but J.Botha removed H.Singh in his 4th over and then D.Styen removed dangerous Yuvraj to move South Africa closer to their eighth successive win. In the end India fell short by 12 runs.


Earlier South African Captain Graeme Smith won the toss and elected to bat on a sharp turning track. But India's slow bowlers strangulated South Africa's impressive batting line-up after a frenetic start, and but for a wonderful hand of 63 from AB de Villiers, the already-eliminated Indians would have been left to chase a miniscule target.

Now South Africa will take on Pakistan in the 1st Semi Final of ICC World Twenty20 on June 18th at Trent Bridge and Sri Lanka will take on West Indies at Oval in 2nd Semi Final on 19th of June.

AB Devilliers was declared Player-of-the-Match for his inning of 63 runs of 51 balls.


Match Summary (South Africa won by 12 Runs)

South Africa – 130/5 in 20 Overs

AB Devilliers- 63 G.Smith– 26

R.Jadeja– 3-0-9-1 S.Raina- 1-0-6-1

India– 118/8 in 20 Overs

R.Sharma- 29 Yuvraj Singh– 25

J.Botha– 4-0-16-3 D.Styen- 3-0-25-2

India v South Africa twenty20 Highlights

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Defending Champion India thrashed by England

The defending twenty20 World Champions India crashed by England to get out of the competition.
The determined England put up a good show with bowl to restrict India short by 3 runs of their target. Chasing the target of 154 runs to win Indian top order batsman didn’t provided the start they were looking for. They consumed too many deliveries in the middle overs and could not able to keep the control over required run rate.

G.Swann turn the game in England favour in his 3rd and 14th over of Indian innings when he dismissed R.Jadeja (25 runs of 35 balls) and dangerous looking Yuvraj Singh (17 runs of 9 balls), India needed another 67 runs in 36 balls to achieve the target.

The turning point was the dismissal of Yuvraj Singh superbly stumped by James Foster as he reached out to drive Swann. Yuvraj had smashed 17 - including two sixes - from eight balls prior to that, but Foster's quicksilver glovework ensured that India were left a Snowdon-sized peak to climb without their most explosive batsman.

Yusuf Pathan (33 runs of 17 balls) and M.S.Dhoni (30 runs of 20 balls) did tried hard by putting on 63 runs in 36 balls for the sixth wicket but it was too late for the Indians.

There too much mistakes made by the Indians in a do-or-die game and M.S.Dhoni must be asked why he sent R.Jadeja ahead of in-form Yuvraj Singh or why he didn’t came himself to consolidate the inning when India are two down for 24 runs on the board in the 4th over.

When asked about sending Jadeja ahead of Yuvraj M.S.Dhoni in post match presentation said he was saving Yuvraj and himself for the last few overs. But he must learn from the mistakes quickly of sending better player ahead in the crunch game. He was too defensive today’s in his decision making whatever the reason.

Now India are out of competition and they will take on South Africa on Tuesday and look to register a win to save some pride otherwise it’s one of worst series India have played in the recent times.

154 runs target was easily achievable if he had planned their innings perfectly but it was total misjudgment by the team management of sending Jadeja ahead of Yuvraj Singh.

R.Sidebottom was declared Player-of-the-Match for his superb bowling spell at start of Indian innings (2/31).

Match Summary (England won by 3 Runs)

England – 153/7 in 20 Overs

Kevin Pietersen- 46 Ravi Bopara– 37

Harbhajan Singh– 4-0-30-3 R.Jadeja- 4-0-26-2

India– 150/5 in 20 Overs

Y.Pathan- 33* M.S.Dhoni– 30*

R.Sidebottom– 4-0-31-2 G.Swann- 4-0-28-2

India v England Super Eights highlights last 10 balls

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India v England -Big game for both teams

India v England -Big game for both teams

Having lost their first Super Eights game to West Indies, now India faces an uphill task of beating desperate England in do-or-die encounter at Lords. India the defending WT20 world champion was in similar situation in 2007 world cup also and they have same opponent to beat to enter the semi finals of World twenty20. It’s not an impossible task but it’s really tough beating England in their home ground.

England is in similar situation they must win today’s game to keep their hopes alive in the tournament. England have so far not performed consistently in the tournament. They have lost their first game to Netherlands in the Group game and then they bounce back to beat Pakistan to enter Super Eights.

In their first Super Eights game also they have been beaten comprehensively by South AfricaIndia might have lost the game against West Indies but they are still very good side and England knows about the fact. and now they are in similar situation as they were at Group Stage. They have tough job in their hand since

The main worry for England is their batting apart from K.Pietersen and O.Shah no one looks consistent. Their bowling looks solid but it will come under real test against Indian batting line up.

On the other hand Indian bowling at start and in depth is the main worry for the team management. Their batting might have not clicked against West Indies but every body knows each individual in the Indian team has match winning ability.

With the likes of Rohit Sharma, Gambhir, Raina, Yuvraj, Dhoni and Y.Pathan they can chase down any total or they can set huge target. But it will be interesting to see how Indian teams cope up in pressure situation.

A win for either team will boost their chances of making into the last four. But India must win todays game otherwise the winner of England or West Indies game will qualify for the semifinals along with South Africa irrespective of their last game against South Africa.

India also have to keep their eye on Net Run rate because it will come into play at later stage of the Super Eights stage.

Watch out For

Yuvraj Singh: Who will forget six sixes hit in an over by this man against same team when they last clashed in twenty20 internationals. India is in same situation they were in the last twenty20 world cup. With the kind of form Yuvraj Singh showed in the tournament it will be great to watch how this man bats against England bowlers.

Kevin Pietersen: A dangerous man in any format of the game and with must win game for the team he will be hoping for big score to his name. It will be another interesting battle between him and Indian twin spinners.

Pitch & Conditions

The pitch at Lord’s will be again full of runs and any score between 170-180 runs will be good total on this wicket. Weather also looks fine with some cloudy condition in the evening.

Team News

Despite of loss in the last game by the hand of West Indies, India is likely to go with same playing XI. It was batting that let them down in that game not their bowling. However they may think to bring R.P.Singh back in place of Ishant Sharma.

On the other hand it seems that England have found their best XI and they will likely to continue with same. However with the batting line-up Indian have, England might drop Adil Rashid and give G.Napier a chance for his twenty20 debut.

Likely Playing XI for both teams (Match is schedule to begin at 22:00 PM India Time on 14th Of June)

India Squad: Rohit Sharma, Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni (Captain & Wicketkeeper), Yusuf Pathan, Irfan Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, P.Ojha, Ishant Sharma.

England Squad: Ravi Bopara, Luke Wright, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood (Captain), Owasis Shah, Dimitri Mascarenhas, James Foster (WK), Grame Swann, Stuart Broad, Adil Rashid, James Anderson.

Stats & Trivia

Both teams have played only one twenty20 Internationals with each other in the last twenty20 World Cup and India come out as winner by 18 runs in the end because of Yuvraj Singh miracle.
So far Indian team has hit 13 sixes in the tournament while England managed just eight.

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Sri Lanka v Ireland Super Eights

Sri Lanka after beating Pakistan by 19 runs in their first Super Eights game will eye a big win over Ireland to secure their Semi Final berth in ICC World twenty20.

Sri Lanka who started the tournament with not in the favourite list to win the tournament is now one of the favourite to lift the twenty20 Cup with their consistent performance. Their top order is firing all cylinders and their bowling also looks solid and have variety to test any batting lineup.

The major worry of concern is their middle order which sustained a horrid collapse of 5 for 40 in the last six overs in the game against Pakistan.

Ireland having tag of Associates team is already beaten a test nation in the tournament but after that they have beaten comprehensively by New Zealand and Sri Lanka have to do in same manner as New Zealand did against Ireland to lift their Net Run Rate.

Ireland hopes will rely on the shoulder of O.Briend brothers and all-rounder T.Johnson. It will be interesting to see how Ireland tackles M’s (Murali, Mendis, Malinga and Mathews) bowling.
Likely Playing XI for both teams (Match is schedule to begin at 18:00 PM India Time on 14th Of June)

Sri Lanka Squad: Sanath Jayasuriya, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara (WK, Captain), Mahela Jayawardene, Jehan Mubarak, Chamara Silva, Angelo Mathews, Nuwan Kulasekara, Ajantha Mendis, Lasith Malinga, Muttiah Muralitharan

Ireland Squad: William Porterfield (Captain), Gary Wilson, Niall O'Brien (WK), Andre Botha, Kevin O'Brien, John Mooney, Alex Cusack, Trent Johnston, Kyle McCallan, Regan West, Pete Connell

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India v West Indies Twenty20 World Cup

So far Indian team has played to weaker side at their Group stage and now they have real challenge in hand when they take on West Indies in their first Super Eights game at Lord’s. West Indies team rely heavily on individual performance rather than team effort to win matches and that is the main worry for them on the other hand India got so many match winner in their rank and if they can continue playing as unit then it will be easy cake-walk for the Indians.

Chris Gayle innings of 88 runs against Australia was inning to watch he demolished All Australian bowlers including Brett Lee who ends with figure of 56/1 in his four overs. The team officials are confident Gayle will be back for this match after he missed the inconsequential league game against Sri Lanka on Wednesday.

Many experts believes that India's spin twins Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha will play major roles in the crucial Super8 encounter against West Indies. And why not so far these two performed exceptionally well in the middle overs. They not only contained the batsman but also cheeped with crucial wickets at regular intervals of the game.

Rohit Sharma who showed class, power hitting and maturity at top has real test on hand against West Indies bowlers. Suresh Raina who so far batted at number five for India whenever he got the chance is likely to came at number three and Dhoni will be pushed down to number five.

All in all we expect a cracking encounter between India and West Indies at Lord’s in World twenty20 Super Eights fourth game.
Watch out For

Yuvraj Singh: A blistering knock of 41 runs of 18 balls against Bangladesh make Yuvraj Singh a player to watch in the game against West Indies. He is one of the player when hits the bowl you can hear a crisp sound of willow meeting the ball.

Dangerous Gayle: Chris Gayle sparkling knock against Australia guided his team to a comfortable win against Australia. He is returning after taking rest in the previous game due to knee injury. So watch out for battle between Zaheer, Ishant and Gayle.
Pitch & Conditions

The pitch at Lord’s is likely to assist spinners and India will be hoping for bounce and turn on the wickets. Team winning the toss would love to bat on Lord’s wicket. Any score from 170-180 runs will be defendable total.

Team News

Indian team management is unlilkey to change their winning XI. Irfan Pathan bowling is little worry for the Indians as he conceded too many runs in his last two outings but his batting ability get him ahead of others (Praveen Kumar and R.P.Singh).
Dhoni already told that he will stick with two spinners os there will be no change in other lineup.

West Indies will be hoping that his captain will be fit for this big game, hwoever they will be in big dielimma after superb performance by L.Simmons in the last game both with bat and ball. So Xavier Marshall is liley to make a way for his captain.

Likely Playing XII for both teams (Match is schedule to begin at 22:00 PM India Time on 12th Of June)

India Squad: Rohit Sharma, Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni (Captain & Wicketkeeper), Yusuf Pathan, Irfan Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, P.Ojha, Ishant Sharma.

West Indies Squad: Chris Gayle (Captain), Andre Fletcher, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Dwayne Bravo, Lendl Simmons, Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin (WK), Jerome Taylor, Fidel Edwards, Suleiman Benn.

Stats & Trivia

India and West Indies never played against each other in twenty20 International.

M.S.Dhoni strike rate in T20I is 105.80, while S.Chanderpaul has strike rate of 99.36.

Sri Lanka v Pakistan Super Eights – Confidant Lanka will eye an win against rusty Pakistan

Sri Lanka with two win in their group games will start as firm favorite when they will take on sloppy Pakistan in their first Super Eights game. Pakistan team is really happy after ICC approved Abdul Razzak as replacement for Yasir Arafat but he will arrive too late for this game and can only play from next game onwards.

Pakistan fielding is main worry for them and if it will not improve then they have to leave their dream of winning the ICC World twenty20. Sri Lankan openers along with bowlers are in great form. Specially T.Dilshan who is the second highest run getter in the tournament and Jayasurya also showed sign of return to form in the game against West Indies is also worry of concern for Pakistan.

Sri Lankan bowling attack consisting of M’s (Murali, Mendis, Malinga and Mathews) is really in superb shape and if they continued to perform in same manner then Pakistani’s batsman have real fight on their hand.

Likely Playing XII for both teams (Match is schedule to begin at 18:00 PM India Time on 12th Of June)

Sri Lanka Squad: Sanath Jayasuriya, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara (WK, Captain), Mahela Jayawardene, Jehan Mubarak, Chamara Silva, Angelo Mathews, Isuru Udana, Ajantha Mendis, Lasith Malinga, Muttiah Muralitharan.

Pakistan Squad: Ahmed Shehzad, Kamran Akmal (WK), Shoaib Malik, Misbah-ul-Haq, Younis Khan (Captain), Shahid Afridi, Fawad Alam, Sohail Tanvir, Umar Gul, Mohammad Aamer, Saeed Ajmal.

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Injured Sehwag out of Twenty20 World Cup

India batsman Virender Sehwag has been ruled out of the Twenty20 World Cup with a shoulder injury and will return home, the Indian cricket board said on Tuesday.

Indian selectors named wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik as replacement, although the call-up needs to be ratified by the International Cricket Council. Sehwag, 30, was injured in the lead up to the tournament and missed Saturday's opening win over Bangladesh.

The holders face Ireland on Wednesday with both teams having already qualified for the Super Eights. The explosive opening batsman, who played in the victorious Twenty20 team in 2007, will consult doctors in England before flying home, the board statement added.

Sehwag could also miss the four-game one-day series in West Indies from June 26 to July 5 if the injury persists.

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Twenty20 World Cup – South Africa wins thriller and Pakistan beat Netherlands to enter Super Eights

South Africa v New Zealand – Bowlers gives South Africa a close fought win

South Africa finish their group match on high note after beating New Zealand by 1 run in a low scoring game at Lord’s. Chasing the target of 129 runs to win in 20 overs, New Zealand fell short by 1 runs. It was not an easy pitch to bat with cloudy condition but it was also not that hard.
South Africa remains unbeaten in their Group. They made a modest score but rallied superbly in the field. Brendon McCullum got a half-century (57 runs of 54 balls) but never threatened to step on the gas. Whenever New Zealand started to form a stand South Africa snapped it. South Africa held their nerve and bowled really well, applying and keeping the pressure on New Zealand.

At half-way stage no one thoughts that South Africa will came out winner in end. South AfricaNew Zealand got off to flying start with openers putting on 47 runs for the first wicket but once J.Kallis got out it was all New Zealand throughout the South African innings. after put into bat by

The win here will give South Africa lots of confidence before going into the Super Eights stage. They are placed in Group E with England, India and West Indies, a lot tougher group than Group F (Pakistan, Ireland, New Zealand and Sri Lanka).

Re ven der Merwe was declared Man-of-the-Match for his superb bowling figure of 4-0-14-2.

Match Summary (South Africa won by 1 Run)
South Africa – 128/7 in 20 Overs
G.Smith- 33 JP. Duminy –29
I.Butler– 4-0-13-2 N.McCullum- 4-0-18-1
New Zealand – 127/5 in 20 Overs
B.McCullum- 57 J.Oram–24
Re ven der Merwe – 4-0-14-2 D.Styen- 4-0-22-1

Pakistan v Netherlands – Afridi and Ajmal guide Pakistan into Super Eights

Superb bowling performance by Shahid Afridi (4/11) and Saeed Ajmal (3/20) put Pakistan into next stage of World Twenty20. Defending the target of 176, Pakistanis bowler came out all cylinders firing to restrict the Netherlands to only 93 runs.

To qualify they needed to restrict Netherlands to 150 runs and they did it in style by bowling them out for 93 runs in 17.3 overs. No batsman able to play twin spin attack of Afridi and Ajmal comfortably, only A.Kervezee who made 21 runs shows some fight.

Earlier Younis Khan won the toss and decided to bat first in a pressure match. Kamran Akmal top scored for Pakistan with 41 runs of just 30 balls. Younis Khan also played a good hand scoring 36 runs of 20 balls.

Kamran Akmal was declared Man-of-the-Match for his inning of 41 runs of 30 balls.

Match Summary (Pakistan won by 82 Run)
Pakistan – 175/5 in 20 Overs
K.Akmal- 41 Younis Khan –36
P.Seelar– 4-0-36-2 D.Nannes- 4-0-26-1
Netherlands – 93/10 in 17.3 Overs
A.Kervezee- 21 R.ten Doeschate–14
Shahid Afridi – 4-0-11-4 Saeed Ajmal- 4-0-20-3

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Australia Knocked Out of Twenty20 World Cup, lost to Sri Lanka by 6 wickets

Australia Knocked Out of Twenty20 World Cup, lost to Sri Lanka by 6 wickets

ODI World Champions Australia has knocked out of the 2009 ICC Twenty20 World Cup in the first round only as they lost their 2nd match against Sri Lanka on Monday, 8th June, 2009 at Trent Bridge.

Australia desperately wanted to win shortest vesrion title but they were out in Semi-Final stage in the 1st T20 WC and now they knocked out even early in the 1st round.

Match Summary:Australia - 159/9 in 20 overs

(Johnson 28*, Mendis 3-20, Malinga 3-36).

Sri Lanka - 160/4 in 20 overs

(Sangakkara 55*, Dilshan 53).

Toss - Sri Lanka, who chose to field first.

Man of the Match - Kumara Sangakkara (Sri Lanka)

Result - Sri Lanka won by 6 wickets (with 6 balls remaining).

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Twenty20 Cricket World Cup 2009 – India, West Indies and New Zealand started their campaign with victory

India, West Indies & New Zealand started their twenty20 world cup campaign on winning note by beating Bangladesh, Australia and Scotland respectively.

India v Bangladesh – Yuvraj and Ojha magic handed India an easy win

Yuvraj Singh blistering knock of 41 runs of just 18 balls and P.Ojha magical spell of 4 for 21 gave India a comfortable win in their first game at Trent Bridge against Bangladesh.
Electing to bat first once again India got off to flying start with their new opening pair Rohit Sharma (33 runs of 26 balls) and Gautam Gambhir (50 runs of 46 balls). Both put on 59 runs in just 44 balls for the first wicket before Rohit got out trying to play big shots. However Gautam Gambhir continued his good form, he was little slow but he kept one end till the very end.
In the middle overs when Dhoni (26 runs of 21 balls) and Gambhir was bogged down by brilliant slow spin bowling by Bangladeshi bowlers. At the end of 15th over they were struggling and looking like they will have difficulty in reaching a score of 160. But thanks to Yuvraj Singh brilliance who smashed 41 runs of just 18-ball to get pass India score to 180 run mark. His inning included 4 huge sixes and three crisp boundaries.
Irfan Pathan also showed good hand with bat hitting 11 runs of last three deliveries of Indian innings.
Bangladesh started their run chase in great fashion with Z.Siddique (41 runs of 22 balls) and Tamim Iqbal (15 runs of 10 balls) both went on to take 20 runs in the first two overs. That causes Dhoni to change the bowling and bring Yusuf Pathan in the 3rd over and it really worked as he removed dangerous looking T.Iqbal in his very first over.
Junaid Siddique continued his brilliance to get pass Bangladesh score to 50 run mark in first five overs. However as soon as spinner came on to bowl, Bangladesh loss their way and they finally fell short by 25 runs.

P.Ojha was named Man-of-the-Match for his superb bowling figures of 4/21.

Match Summary (India Won by 25 Runs)

India – 180/5 in 20 Overs

Gautam Gambhir- 50 Yuvraj Singh –41

Naeem Islam– 3-0-32-2 Shakib Al Hassan– 4-0-24-1

Bangladesh – 155/8 in 20 Overs

Zunaid Siddique- 41 Naeem Islam –28

P.Ojha – 4-0-21-4 I.Sharma- 4-0-34-2

New Zealand v Scotland – Taylor and Ryder blistering knock get New Zealand
home

Chasing a mammoth total of 90 runs for victory in rain reduced 7 over game, New Zealand achieve the target quite comfortably in 6 overs with loss of just three wickets. Jessy Ryde played a big role in New Zealand run chase with his blistering knock of 31 runs of just 12 deliveries.

Ross Taylor (21 runs of 10 balls) and B.McCullum (18 runs of 7 balls) also contributed well in New Zealand run chase.

Earlier New Zealand acting captain B.McCullum won the toss and put Scotland into bat in a rain reduced game. Scotland responded well and made 89/4 in their seven overs. Scotland top three batsmen played well to get the team total close to 90 runs mark in 7 overs. R.Watson (27 runs of 10 balls), N.Poonia (27 runs of 15 balls) and K.Coetzer (33 runs of 15 balls) were major contributer for Scotland.

Ian Butler was named Man-of-the-Match for his superb bowling figures of 3/19.

Match Summary (New Zealand Won by 7 Wickets)

Scotland – 89/4 in 7 Overs

K.Coetzar- 33 R.Watson –27

Ian Butler– 2-0-19-3 J.Franklin– 1-0-12-0

New Zealand – 90/3 in 6 Overs

J.ryder- 31 Ross Taylor –21

R.Watson – 1-0-4-1 C.Wright- 1-0-20-1

West Indies v Australia – Chris Gayle and Fletcher hammered Australia

Australia once again look short of an idea in the new format of the game when they clobbered all-around the park by two dynamic West Indian batsman (Gayle and Fletcher). West Indies thrashed them by seven wickets with 25 balls to spare at the Oval to take the first step to a place in the Super Eights.
Australians are totally outplayed by West Indies and one man who eventually did that was West Indies captain Chris Gayle himself. He simply stood at hi crease and smashed all Australia bowlers all-around the park. You can imagine the Australian bowlers getting hammered by looking at the bowling figures of one of their supreme bowler Brett Lee, who end up with match figure of 1/56 in his four overs.
Australia are placed in the group with West Indies and Sri Lanka which is already declared as ‘group of death’ and mighty Australians dream of winning the ICC world twenty20 Trophy is just one step away before it get shattered.
Now they must win against Sri Lanka by big margin to stay alive in the tournament and hope that West Indies will beat them. Surely, the Lankan lions will be sharpening their teeth for the kill when they take on the Kangaroos on Monday.
Ricky Ponting after winning the toss decided to bat first but their team is reduce to 2/3 in the very first over. From their on rest of the batsman started the repair work and in the end they only reach 169 runs in their 20 overs.Thanks to David Warner inning of 63 runs of 53 balls and good support from D.Hussey (27 runs of 16 balls), M.Hussey (28 runs of 16 balls) and B.Haddin (24 runs of 19 balls).

Chris Gayle was declared Man-of-the-Match for his brutal knock of 88 runs of 50 balls.

Match Summary (West Indies Won by 7 Wickets)

Australia – 169/7 in 20 Overs

D.Warner- 63 M.Hussey –28*

J.Taylor– 4-0-33-2 D.Bravo- 4-0-31-2

West Indies – 172/3 in 15.5 Overs

C.Gayle- 88 A. Fletcher –53

M.Johnson – 3.5-0-36-2 Brett Lee- 4-0-56-1

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Twenty 20 world cup - India thrashed Pakistan by 9 Wickets

Rohit Sharma smashed 80 runs of just 53 balls while Gautam Gambhir played a calm knock of 52 runs of just 47 balls to guide India to emphatic 9 wicket win over Pakistan. Chasing the target of 159 runs for victory India achieved the target in just 17 overs with the loss of only one wicket.
Rohit Sharma smashed 9 fours and two huge sixes in his inning of 80 runs, he was finally dismissed in the 16th over by 17 year fast bowler Mohammad Aemer. However when he got out the task for India was much easier with 19 runs needed of last four overs. M.S.Dhoni played some lovely drive in end to finish the match in 17 overs.

This win continued the India winning streak in World Cup against Pakistan. They have never lost a single game to Pakistan in the world cup. In the last world cup also they have played twice with Pakistan and came out as winner on both occasions.

Now India will take on Bangladesh in their first game of twenty20 World Cup on 6th of June at Trent Bridge.

Earlier Pakistan Captain Younis Khan won the toss and elected to bat first. But Praveen Kumar strikes with his fifth bowl to dismissed Shahzaib Hasan for duck. However Pakistan batsman continues the counter attack from both ends. With Ahmed Shehzad smashing 25 runs of just 19 balls and Kamran Akmal getting 19 runs of just 9 deliveries. Both put on 43 runs of just 22 balls for the second wicket. But brilliant fielding by Suresh Raina sent Akmal back in the pavilion.

After Akmal dismissal Pakistan loss two quick wickets of both Shehzad and Afridi (0 run of 1 ball), so score of 45/1 in the fifth over suddenly slipped to 45/4 at the end of 6th over. But Thanks to Younis Khan (32 runs of 32 balls) and Misbah-Ul-Haq (37 runs of 30 balls) and in the end some great hitting by Yasir Arafat (25 runs of 16 balls) Pakistan reached a comparative total of 158/6 in 20 overs.

Once again Indian bowlers failed to bowl good line and length in the depth overs. They conceded as many as 45 runs in the last four overs to allow Pakistan to reach a decent total.


Match Summary (India won by 9 Wickets)

Pakistan – 158/6 in 20 Overs

Misbah-Ul-Haq- 37* Younis Khan –32

I.Sharma – 3-1-11-1 H.Singh– 4-0-27-1

India – 159/1 in 17 Overs

R.Sharma- 80 G.Gambhir –52*

M.Aamer – 3-0-18-1 Y.Arafat- 3-0-25-0

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Twenty 20 world cup - India Vs Pakistan warm up game at Kannington Oval , London

Pakistan captain Younis Khan won the toss and decided to bat first in the warm-up game against India at Kennington Oval, London. This may be warm-up game but the excitement around fans is very high.
Pakistan was 2/1 at the end of first over. Praveen Kumar bowled Shahzaib Hasan for duck to give India first breakthrough of the game.
Virendra Sehwag and Zaheer Khan are still not recovered from injury so these two have to sit out for this game. While Yuvraj Singh is fit and he will play in today’s game.
Here is the final list of Players playing in this game:
India Squad: Rohit Sharma, Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni (Captain & Wicketkeeper), Yuvraj Singh, Yusuf Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja, Irfan Pathan, Ishant Sharma, Harbhajan Singh, RP Singh, P.Ojha, P.Kumar.
Pakistan Squad: Shahzaib Hasan, Ahmed Shehzad, Younis Khan (Captain), Kamran Akmal (Wicketkeeper), Misbah-ul-Haq, Shoaib Malik, Shahid Afridi, Umar Gul, Yasir Arafat, Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Aamer, Fawad Alam, Sohail Tanvir.
Earlier Post
India will take on arch-rivals Pakistan in their second and last warm-up game before starting their 2009 world twenty20 campaign against Bangladesh on June 6th.
After the loss in the first warm-up game for both the teams they will look to register win in their last warm-up game before beginning their world twenty20 campaign. India lost to New Zealand by 9 runs in their first warm up game while Pakistan beaten comprehensively by South Africa with the margin of 59 runs.
The manner in which Pakistan loss the game is really sad while India loss the game to New Zealand because of some bad shot selection by their batsman and some poor bowling in the depth overs of the innings.
ICC already designated the game between India and Pakistan as “Catch the Spirit”, a fundraiser for the Lahore official victims and to help support the families of the victims of the attack on the Sri Lankans team in Lahore in March. So the game between India and Pakistan will not only help peoples of Pakistan and Sri Lanka but will also provide an ample entertainment for the crowds.
Both teams will be eying a win before entering the main phase of the 2020 world cup. A win here will not only boost the morale of the team but also help some of the players to carry the momentum forward into the tournament.
The loss to New Zealand in the first warm-up game on Monday is not the only cause of worry for Team India. Injuries to key players are taking a toll on the best playing XI. M.S.Dhoni is hoping that Zaheer, Yuvraj and Sehwag will be fit before the first twenty20 world cup game against Bangladesh on June 6th. However Zaheer is likely to miss the first game also as he needs more time to recover from his shoulder injury.
Some sources also revealed that few Indian players will be fit only by second phase of the tournament.
With Zaheer Khan out of the equation India is likely to go into the match with R.P.Singh, Ishant Sharma and Irfan Pathan while Harbhajan and P.Ojha will carry the loads of spin department.
Younis Khan on the other hand hoping that their players didn’t repeat the same mistakes that they did against South Africans. They look out of idea in the game. Not only their bowling looks wayward but their batting and fielding were really below par. They dropped too many catches and also made lapses in the field to concede few easy boundaries to South Africa.
As always we can expect a cracker of game between these two teams at Oval.
Pitch & Conditions
The pitch at Kennington Oval, London at this time of year is really dry and will help the spinners. So M.S.D might think to utilize the opportunity by playing both the spinners. Seamers will also get help from the wicket. Any score between 160-170 will be competitive total on this wicket.
Team News
Zaheer Khan, Yuvraj Singh and Sehwag is still doubtful for today’s game. That means Dhoni has no other option than playing with same team that played against New Zealand in the last game at Lords.
On the other hand Pakistan will be looking for improvement from their players and some of the players who didn’t get chance in the previous warm-up against South Africa might play against India. However Pakistan will play with best XI to take revenge of Twenty20 World Cup loss to India.
Likely Playing XII for both teams (Match is schedule to begin at 22:00 PM India Time on 3rd Of June)
India Squad: Rohit Sharma, Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni (Captain & Wicketkeeper), Yusuf Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja, Irfan Pathan, Ishant Sharma, Harbhajan Singh, RP Singh, P.Ojha, P.Kumar.
Pakistan Squad: Younis Khan (Captain), Fawad Alam, Kamran Akmal (Wicketkeeper), Misbah-ul-Haq, Saeed Ajmal, Salman Butt, Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik, Umar Gul, Yasir Arafat, Mohammad Aamer, Sohail Tanveer.
Stats & Trivia
So far both teams have played two twenty20 matches and on both occasions India came out as winner. Once in the group game in twenty20 2007 world cup and other in the final of twenty20 world cup 2007.

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New Zealend Beat India by 9 runs

Daniel Vettori and his team beat T20 World Champions India by 9 runs in the warm-up game at Lords. Brilliant bowling performance by Daniel Vettori and superb batting by James Franklin made the difference in the end.
Chasing the target of 171 runs to win, India got off to flying start with the new opening pair Rohit Sharma (36 runs of 20 balls) and Gautam Gambhir (14 runs of 15 balls). Gambhir didn’t looks in great touch though and finally dismissed by Ian Butler.
However Rohit Sharma continued to play his natural game, stroking all around the park. The big moment came when New Zealand captain dismissed both Rohit Sharma and M.S.Dhoni (6 runs of 4 balls) in his very first over. First Dhoni was stumped by B.McCullum and then Rohit Sharma failed to read Vettori spinning ball as he was played down.
New Comer Ravinder Jadeja (41 runs of 41 balls) and Suresh Raina (45 runs of 24 balls) put on 69 runs of just 46 balls for the fourth wicket to bring India right back into the match. Suresh Raina got out at crucial moments of the game in the 15th over and from there onwards it’s all New Zealand.
Although India were playing this game without some of their key players (Yuvraj and Sehwag). However a game that can be won easily has lost and now India have to really think in their bowling department. Their bowlers R.P.Singh and I.Pathan conceded 31 runs in the last two overs and from my point of view that made the difference in the match.
Earlier after winning the toss Indian captain M.S.Dhoni put New Zealand into bat at beautiful Lord’s Cricket Ground. New Zealand team didn’t get the start as per their linking as Jesse Ryder looks out of touch through out his stay at the crease. Ishant Sharma bowled Jesse Ryder to open his account.
B.McCullum (31 runs of 19 balls) continued his style of batting and smashed few boundaries before getting out on the bowling of Ishant Sharma. M.Guptil also didn’t last longer who has been stumped beautifully by M.S.Dhoni on the bowling of P.Ojha.
At 73/4 at half way stage New Zealand team looking in difficult situation but thanks to Ross Taylor (41 runs of 33 balls) and Scott Styris (29 runs of 19 balls) innings. Both manage to put quick-fire 42 runs of just 29 balls. However Harbhajan Singh removed dangerous looking Ross Taylor at the right time.
Despite of Styris and Taylor heroics New Zealand were struggling to reach 150 run marks in the end. However allrounder James Franklin (27 runs of 10 balls) and Nathan McCullum (18 runs of 14 balls) has other idea as both manage to collect 31 runs in the last two overs of their innings. First it was Irfan Pathan who gave away 15 runs in the 19th over and then R.P.Singh conceded 16 runs in his last overs.

Match Summary (New Zealand won by 9 runs)
New Zealand – 170/7 in 20 Overs
R.Taylor- 53* J.Franklin –27*
I.Sharma – 4-0-25-4 H.Singh– 4-0-22-1
New Zealand – 161/6 in 20 Overs
S.Raina- 45 R.Jadeja –41*
D.Vettori – 3-0-24-3 J.Oram– 3-0-18-1

South Africa beat Pakistan by 59 runs in the warm-up game at Trent Bridge
In the other warm-up game South Africa beat Pakistan by 59 runs. Electing to bat first South Africa posted a massive total of 186/7 in their 20 overs. Graeme Smith scored 70 runs of just 52 balls. H.Gibbs (42 runs of 23 balls), A.Morkel (32 runs of 14 balls) and J.Kallis (26 runs of 22 balls) were other useful contributor.
Chasing a mammoth target of 187 runs to win, Pakistan was bundled out for 127 runs in 19.4 overs.

Australia beat Bangladesh by 38 runs in the warm-up game at Trent Bridge
Australia beat Bangladesh quite comfortably by 38 runs in the warm-up game at Nottingham, Trent Bridge. Electing to bat first Australia got off to flyer by their openers Shane Watson (52 runs of 23 balls) and Brad Haddin (47 runs of 29 balls). They reach the score of 100 in just 8th over. However Mahmudullah four wickets some what peg back Australia but in the end they reach the score which was way behind the reach of Bangladeshi batsman’s. Australia scored 219/6 in their 20 overs.
In reply Bangladesh scored 181/7 falling short by 38 runs.

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