The “Revenge Series” is about to begin in a few hours time. The Australians are pumped up. The Indians are fresh from a high that they have never experienced in over two decades. The atmosphere is going to be high voltage. The drama has already started.
Adam Gilchrist and Ponting have repeatedly pointed out that the Australians are the Test and ODI champions. Absolutely no disagreement with that. But with Twenty20 going to be a big format in the coming years, India can be proud of their achievement of winning the major title with only one game as their experience.
Australia are going without four key players - Michael Hussey, Shaun Tait, Nathan Bracken and Shane Watson. Ricky Ponting is not going to play the first match as he is still not fully fit from his hamstring strain. This gives a rare opportunity for players like Adam Voges, James Hopes and Ben Hilfenhaus who are still new to international cricket.
From India’s point of view, they have defeated the Australians in a pressure game and they should keep that in mind - the invincible can be beaten. With RP Singh and Zaheer Khan to spearhead the pace attack, we have a combo that can truly shake the Australian top order.
Click here for the full article
Friday, September 28, 2007
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Ricky Ponting shows true colors
Australians would have several egos being hit hard after their semi-final loss to India in the recently concluded T20 World cup. Ponting says that Indians have gone overboard and that its unfortunate for some seniors to come in place of the youngsters. He also mentions that its easier for the Australians to play against an Indian team that has Sachin, Saurav and Dravid as they have played them before many times.
Andrew Symonds says, “I think we have been pretty humble in the way we have gone about it and personally I think they have got far too carried away with their celebrations. It has definitely sparked passion inside of us.” Well you have not really been humble, Andrew, rather you have been humbled by a bunch of youngsters whose total combined experience is less than Adam Gilchrist and Ponting.
I am just waiting for the Big 3’s bats to do the talking and let’s see if Ponting’s men can walk the talk this time as with comments like these, his team better be prepared for an extra hostile crowd and an extra determined Indian team.
Andrew Symonds says, “I think we have been pretty humble in the way we have gone about it and personally I think they have got far too carried away with their celebrations. It has definitely sparked passion inside of us.” Well you have not really been humble, Andrew, rather you have been humbled by a bunch of youngsters whose total combined experience is less than Adam Gilchrist and Ponting.
I am just waiting for the Big 3’s bats to do the talking and let’s see if Ponting’s men can walk the talk this time as with comments like these, his team better be prepared for an extra hostile crowd and an extra determined Indian team.
As the Australian saying goes, “Ricky Ponting - You bloody idiot”.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
What about the selectors?
After the win in the Twenty20 World Cup, a lot of credit and accolades have gone to the players and the support staff. Fair enough. But shouldn’t the real credit go to the BCCI and it’s selectors for actually choosing this bunch of youngsters and making a brave decision of sending Dhoni as the captain in a major tournament.
The decision would have been made even more difficult after Sachin, Saurav and Dravid refused to be considered for this edition of the World Cup. Not only did the selectors have to find out replacements, but to also ensure that the youngsters would be committed to one goal only - to perform way above expectations.
The very fact that nobody had any expectations is what stunned me in the first place. Here is Team India, looking to play in a major world tournament, and nobody was giving them a chance. Thank god almighty, that the team proved everyone wrong, even a red-faced Ravi Shastri at the semi-final presentation ceremony.
Cash and prizes for the Indian team
A brief summary of what the Indian team has been awarded so far, besides the $490,000 in prize money for winning the world cup:
- $3,000,000 awarded to the team by the BCCI
- Sahara awards each member of the Indian squad (15 in total) a free house at any of the 217 Sahara India Parivar owned properties. Each house would be worth Rs 2,500,000 approximately.
- Free world tour for players and their families on Air India
- Robin Uthappa to receive Rs 300,000 from the Kerala government.
- RP Singh to receive Rs 200,000 from the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA). RP may also get the coveted Manyavar Kanshiramji International Sports award which carries a prize of Rs 1,000,00.
- Joginder Sharma, the last over hero of the semi-final and final, has been awarded Rs 2,100,000 by the Haryana government.
- Sehwag and Gambhir to get Rs 500,000 each by the Delhi government.
- Dhoni to be conferred the first ever Jharkhand Ratna, which incidentally carries a Rs 500,000 reward, and will also receive a “surprise” gift from the Jharkhand chief minister Mr Madhu Koda.
- Yuvraj Singh awarded Rs 10,000,000 by the BCCI after his semi-final performance. He will also be given a brand new Porsche car.
- RP Singh will be given a Mercedes by Neosport.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
India vs Pakistan, T20 Final
Phew! Amazing. Spectacular. Astounding. Thriller. Sensational. Exhilarating. I am actually out of words to describe this match. No anti-climaxes here. The ending justified why these two teams made it to the finals. It was a day to remember, for both teams played like there was no tomorrow. The edge-of-the-seat thriller that only an India-Pakistan tie can create.
Dhoni won the toss and batted first. Yousuf Pathan opened with Gambhir but did not last long. Neither did Robin Uthappa. However, Gambhir continued to motor along and was joined by Yuvraj Singh. With Yuvi new to the crease and with the ball not really coming onto the bat, the Pakistani skipper brought in his spinners. Yuvraj failed to get his timing correct. Umar Gul was brought into the attack and in just his second over he had Yuvraj mistiming a pull shot and the most dangerous Indian batsman departed after a struggling time in the middle. Dhoni followed soon after with a beat of a delivery. Rohit Sharma provided the much needed flurry at the end of the innings. the target was set at 158.
RP Singh rocked the Pakistani top order and Pathan took care of the middle order. Pakistan were now under pressure and Misbah-ul-haq was now the lone ranger for Pakistan. The man with nerves of steel was the perfect candidate for a pressure situation like this. 54 runs required from 24 balls quickly changed to 23 from 16 balls with 2 wickets in hand. A wicket and a boundary later, the final equation was 13 from the final over with Misbah on strike and Joginder Sharma to bowl the final over.
Jogi bowled a wide outside the off stump and it quickly became two clean hits required. Misbah tried to get one but a swing and a miss meant 12 needed from 5 balls. The next one he walked down the crease and smashed the ball down the ground for a massive six. That shot made it 6 from 4 balls. Then he did the strangest thing off the next ball. Looking to clobber another one down the ground, Misbah walked down towards the off stump, and instead of smashing it down the ground, he decided to scoop it over short fine leg. A cheeky shot. It did not come through as he wanted it to and Sreesanth took the most important catch of his career so far. India were the Twenty20 Champions.
For the full article click here
Dhoni won the toss and batted first. Yousuf Pathan opened with Gambhir but did not last long. Neither did Robin Uthappa. However, Gambhir continued to motor along and was joined by Yuvraj Singh. With Yuvi new to the crease and with the ball not really coming onto the bat, the Pakistani skipper brought in his spinners. Yuvraj failed to get his timing correct. Umar Gul was brought into the attack and in just his second over he had Yuvraj mistiming a pull shot and the most dangerous Indian batsman departed after a struggling time in the middle. Dhoni followed soon after with a beat of a delivery. Rohit Sharma provided the much needed flurry at the end of the innings. the target was set at 158.
RP Singh rocked the Pakistani top order and Pathan took care of the middle order. Pakistan were now under pressure and Misbah-ul-haq was now the lone ranger for Pakistan. The man with nerves of steel was the perfect candidate for a pressure situation like this. 54 runs required from 24 balls quickly changed to 23 from 16 balls with 2 wickets in hand. A wicket and a boundary later, the final equation was 13 from the final over with Misbah on strike and Joginder Sharma to bowl the final over.
Jogi bowled a wide outside the off stump and it quickly became two clean hits required. Misbah tried to get one but a swing and a miss meant 12 needed from 5 balls. The next one he walked down the crease and smashed the ball down the ground for a massive six. That shot made it 6 from 4 balls. Then he did the strangest thing off the next ball. Looking to clobber another one down the ground, Misbah walked down towards the off stump, and instead of smashing it down the ground, he decided to scoop it over short fine leg. A cheeky shot. It did not come through as he wanted it to and Sreesanth took the most important catch of his career so far. India were the Twenty20 Champions.
For the full article click here
Saturday, September 22, 2007
For the newbies... a guide to watching cricket online
Hi people
Our shoutbox is generally flooded with requests from people on how to watch the matches as it is their first time online on this blog.
First of all thanks for coming here and enjoying your cricket. We really appreciate it.
Please Note : We do not create these streams and are not involved in any form of copyright violations. We merely find P2P streams of commonly used P2P streaming players available (Sopcast and TVU) and post the same on the website.
To play these streams first you need to install Sopcast and TVU player. The match is available in either of the two. (Click on the player name to download.)
Links to streams or the streams themselves are embedded in our blog (usually the first post on the blog) just before the match starts. These players are active X controls which are proprietary to Microsoft Internet Explorer so please open the blog in IE only. You shall not be able to see the links in Mozilla Firefox or Safari or any other browser which does not support running Active X controls.
Hope this helps.. For any more queries please post a comment to this post and Ill try to answer it asap.
Cheers
Sparsh
Our shoutbox is generally flooded with requests from people on how to watch the matches as it is their first time online on this blog.
First of all thanks for coming here and enjoying your cricket. We really appreciate it.
Please Note : We do not create these streams and are not involved in any form of copyright violations. We merely find P2P streams of commonly used P2P streaming players available (Sopcast and TVU) and post the same on the website.
To play these streams first you need to install Sopcast and TVU player. The match is available in either of the two. (Click on the player name to download.)
Links to streams or the streams themselves are embedded in our blog (usually the first post on the blog) just before the match starts. These players are active X controls which are proprietary to Microsoft Internet Explorer so please open the blog in IE only. You shall not be able to see the links in Mozilla Firefox or Safari or any other browser which does not support running Active X controls.
Hope this helps.. For any more queries please post a comment to this post and Ill try to answer it asap.
Cheers
Sparsh
India vs Australia, 2nd Semi-Final
This is it, an India vs Pakistan final in a World Cup. Who cares if its only a Twenty20 World Cup. I think after yesterday's semi-final win against the Aussies, T20 is going to become a huge hit in the subcontinent. The formula of sending a younger team for a big tournament seems to have worked, as for the first time India, have shown what they can do without the holy trinity of Tendulkar, Dravid and Ganguly.
India, on the back of yet another scintillating effort from Yuvi, set the Aussies a big target of 189. Uthappa and Dhoni contributed as well. For Australia, none of the bowlers were exceptional. In the chase, only Matthew Hayden and Andrew Symonds kept Australia's hopes alive, but superb bowling from India in the last 4 overs ensured that Australia are now going to pack their bags and head back home.
India will now take on Pakistan in the final at Johannesburg, but there are some questions that do need to be asked at this stage. Is Twenty20 going to have a big future, just like ODI cricket? Have the Australians taken this tournament too lightly? What about England? They were the team with the most T20 experience, yet they failed to win a single match in the Super Eights. In all likelihood it is going to be a cracker of a game on Monday.
For the full article click here
India, on the back of yet another scintillating effort from Yuvi, set the Aussies a big target of 189. Uthappa and Dhoni contributed as well. For Australia, none of the bowlers were exceptional. In the chase, only Matthew Hayden and Andrew Symonds kept Australia's hopes alive, but superb bowling from India in the last 4 overs ensured that Australia are now going to pack their bags and head back home.
India will now take on Pakistan in the final at Johannesburg, but there are some questions that do need to be asked at this stage. Is Twenty20 going to have a big future, just like ODI cricket? Have the Australians taken this tournament too lightly? What about England? They were the team with the most T20 experience, yet they failed to win a single match in the Super Eights. In all likelihood it is going to be a cracker of a game on Monday.
For the full article click here
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Pakistan vs Bangladesh, Group F
Pakistan was the only team to finish undefeated in the Super Eights and have setup a cracker of a semi-final against New Zealand. The other semi-final will be between Australia and India. Looking at these two matches, two possibilities can surely happen. Either India vs Pakistan or New Zealand vs Australia.
Bangladesh scored 140 in their innings on the back of a terrific 71 from Junaid Siddique. Had it not been for him this would have been an embarassing exit. For his effort he was given the man of the match award.
Pakistan, on their part, looked flat and completely out of gas. They struggled to reach their total and although there was an over left, that does not tell the complete story. Bangladesh displayed a lot of character in defending such a low total and could have almost won this match had they scored 10 more runs.
For the full article click here
Bangladesh scored 140 in their innings on the back of a terrific 71 from Junaid Siddique. Had it not been for him this would have been an embarassing exit. For his effort he was given the man of the match award.
Pakistan, on their part, looked flat and completely out of gas. They struggled to reach their total and although there was an over left, that does not tell the complete story. Bangladesh displayed a lot of character in defending such a low total and could have almost won this match had they scored 10 more runs.
For the full article click here
Twenty20 World Cup, India vs South Africa, Group E
Image Source: Cricinfo.com
An inspired spell of bowling saw the South African top-order fall apart. At 12-3, South Africa had lost Herschelle Gibbs, Graeme Smith and AB de Villiers. Justin Kemp followed soon after thanks to a spectacular run our by the star of the day - Rohit Sharma. Shaun Pollock was the next to go and the South Africans were really struggling at 31-5 from 5.5 overs. The term chokers has long been associated by South Africa and defeats like these reinforce that statement. RP Singh was awarded man of the match for his sensational bowling figures -> 4-0-14-4.
For the full article click here
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
India vs England, Group E
Still in shock? You are not the only one. Every single Indian is probably in some state of shock. What a whirlwind effort from Yuvraj Singh. Six sixes in six balls is more a toungue-twister than a fact. India won the toss and Mahi elected to bat first. Sehwag and Gambhir set the stage with an impressive first wicket stand of 136 runs. Cometh the man, cometh the moment. Yuvraj then took centre stage when he smashed Stuart Broad to all parts of the ground. The 19th over cost England 36 runs and was the deciding factor in India's win.
England's chase started off to a decent start, however Pathan, RP Singh and Harbhajan Singh have improved tremendously and seem to have grasped the type of bowling required to stop the runs from flowing like water coming from a collapse of the Hoover Dam.
Yuvraj was made man of the match, and rightly so. India will now face South Africa in another do or die battle as a loss would mean an exit home. A win would mean that New Zealand, South Africa and India would be in 2 wins each and the net run rate factor would come into play.
For the full article click here
England's chase started off to a decent start, however Pathan, RP Singh and Harbhajan Singh have improved tremendously and seem to have grasped the type of bowling required to stop the runs from flowing like water coming from a collapse of the Hoover Dam.
Yuvraj was made man of the match, and rightly so. India will now face South Africa in another do or die battle as a loss would mean an exit home. A win would mean that New Zealand, South Africa and India would be in 2 wins each and the net run rate factor would come into play.
For the full article click here
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Pakistan vs Australia, Group F
The Australian train was derailed yesterday by none other than Pakistan, perhaps the most unpredictable team in the history of cricket. Shoaib Malik won the toss he put the mighty Australians in to bat first. In a game like Twenty20 it is always a benefit that a strong batting team has to bat first as they have no idea what score to target or how the pitch is going to behave.
Australian openers have been sensational in their past couple of matches, but so have been Mohammad Asif and Sohail Tanveer. Tanveer, who probably had his best match of the tournament, picked up 3 key Australians wickets - Gilchrist and Hayden in his opening spell and Hussey in his final spell. Gilchrist, Ponting, Symonds, Hussey and Hodge got starts but, except for Hodge, none of them went on to stay till the end and that probably made the difference between victory and defeat.
With 165 runs to chase from 20 overs, the game was very much on. However, Australia has one of the best bowling lineups even without Glenn McGrath or Shane Warne, and Pakistan soon found that out when they were 46-4 from 6.4 overs. The fans would have their hearts in their mouths as the match was set for Shahid Afridi’s antics. However, that was not to be as Shoaib Malik and Misbah-ul-haq put together an unbeaten 119 run partnership to seal the match.
For the full article click here
Australian openers have been sensational in their past couple of matches, but so have been Mohammad Asif and Sohail Tanveer. Tanveer, who probably had his best match of the tournament, picked up 3 key Australians wickets - Gilchrist and Hayden in his opening spell and Hussey in his final spell. Gilchrist, Ponting, Symonds, Hussey and Hodge got starts but, except for Hodge, none of them went on to stay till the end and that probably made the difference between victory and defeat.
With 165 runs to chase from 20 overs, the game was very much on. However, Australia has one of the best bowling lineups even without Glenn McGrath or Shane Warne, and Pakistan soon found that out when they were 46-4 from 6.4 overs. The fans would have their hearts in their mouths as the match was set for Shahid Afridi’s antics. However, that was not to be as Shoaib Malik and Misbah-ul-haq put together an unbeaten 119 run partnership to seal the match.
For the full article click here
New Zealand vs England, Group E
New Zealand continued on its merry way with another win, albeit by only 5 runs, and seem to have booked an early spot for the semi-finals. And the red hot form of South Africa is going to ensure a mouth-watering match at Durban tomorrow. Paul Collingwood won the toss and, as has been the case in the tournament, he decided to field first. The Kiwis did not get off to a good start as the top order collapsed to Anderson, Broad and Flintoff. Lou Vincent was the only top order player to reach double figures, but even that wasn’t a lot - only 13 runs.
The old guard then took charge of the match for New Zealand with Scott Styris and Craig McMillan joining hands together for a match-winning 60 run partnership. Styris dominated this one scoring 42 runs from 32 balls with 4 big hits and 1 boundary.
England started off well and were 62-0 in 7.4 overs when disaster struck as Vikram Solanki holed out to Lou Vincent. Maddy, whose 50 from only 31 balls could have been match-winning, departed soon after followed even sooner by Paul Collingwood. All of a sudden the scoreboard was 87-3. And when Pietersen (24 from 16) and Flintoff (1 from 1) were sent back to the pavilion (so to speak) the English were in deep trouble with the score reading 104-5. Owais Shah and Luke Wright tried to bring them closer to the toal, but a flurry of wickets towards the end ensured that New Zealand remained undefeated in the Super Eights.
Click here for the full article
The old guard then took charge of the match for New Zealand with Scott Styris and Craig McMillan joining hands together for a match-winning 60 run partnership. Styris dominated this one scoring 42 runs from 32 balls with 4 big hits and 1 boundary.
England started off well and were 62-0 in 7.4 overs when disaster struck as Vikram Solanki holed out to Lou Vincent. Maddy, whose 50 from only 31 balls could have been match-winning, departed soon after followed even sooner by Paul Collingwood. All of a sudden the scoreboard was 87-3. And when Pietersen (24 from 16) and Flintoff (1 from 1) were sent back to the pavilion (so to speak) the English were in deep trouble with the score reading 104-5. Owais Shah and Luke Wright tried to bring them closer to the toal, but a flurry of wickets towards the end ensured that New Zealand remained undefeated in the Super Eights.
Click here for the full article
Monday, September 17, 2007
The Best World Cup Ever!
T20 has proved to be the most sensational Tournament of the year
Can anyone still doubt that the standard of cricket at the highest level would decline with just twenty over matches? Perhaps not. What cricket fans have experienced in the past one week has been something out of the world for them. Its been like a genie from the magical world taking everyone by surprise. Short matches. More action. More thrill. It seems like old days when batsmen were out caught in the slips or the bowlers probing them outside the off stump line. What has added to this thrill is unpredictability of the game. Australia beaten by Zimbabwe …. India won against Pakistan 3-0…… and West Indies beaten after scoring at above 10 an over! The rules of bowl out, free hit and even the players seated on the ground itself has lead cricket into new dimensions. But as cricketing bodies around the world say that its just the starting. Soon there will be cricket leagues which would make the game even better at the international level. What more can we expect….. perhaps no onfield umpires some day, indoor stadiums and most importantly cricket being a global sport!
With the future being bright for the game this is Vibhore signing off.
Can anyone still doubt that the standard of cricket at the highest level would decline with just twenty over matches? Perhaps not. What cricket fans have experienced in the past one week has been something out of the world for them. Its been like a genie from the magical world taking everyone by surprise. Short matches. More action. More thrill. It seems like old days when batsmen were out caught in the slips or the bowlers probing them outside the off stump line. What has added to this thrill is unpredictability of the game. Australia beaten by Zimbabwe …. India won against Pakistan 3-0…… and West Indies beaten after scoring at above 10 an over! The rules of bowl out, free hit and even the players seated on the ground itself has lead cricket into new dimensions. But as cricketing bodies around the world say that its just the starting. Soon there will be cricket leagues which would make the game even better at the international level. What more can we expect….. perhaps no onfield umpires some day, indoor stadiums and most importantly cricket being a global sport!
With the future being bright for the game this is Vibhore signing off.
New Indian Captain(s) to be named today
The BCCI is going to announce the successor to Rahul Dravid today. It is still unclear if the board is going to name two captains - each for one day and test matches. There is a lot of speculation that Dhoni will be named the ODI captain as he is already leading the team in the Twenty20 World Cup.
This may very well be true as Dhoni does have the right attitude to lead the team. His work ethic and brain are second to none in the Indian team.
For the tests, the board will probably have a three-way tussle between Tendulkar, Ganguly and Laxman.
Click here for the full article
This may very well be true as Dhoni does have the right attitude to lead the team. His work ethic and brain are second to none in the Indian team.
For the tests, the board will probably have a three-way tussle between Tendulkar, Ganguly and Laxman.
Click here for the full article
Pakistan vs Sri Lanka, Group F
In the only game of the day, Pakistan overcame Sri Lanka by a comfortable 33 runs. Fifties from Shoaib Malik and Younis Khan set the win for the men in green. Sri Lanka won the toss and Mahela Jayawardene put Pakistan in first. The top order never really got going and soon Pakistan were 33-3 thanks to Dilhara Fernando and the ever-dependable Chaminda Vaas. It was then that Shoaib Malik joined ex-skipper Younis Khan (man of the match) and the two started rebuilding Pakistan’s innings which finally reached a massive 189 runs.
Yes, the chase was very much on. When you have a man like Jayasuriya in your team any total would look attainable. And his form has been nothing short of awesome so far in the series. If the Pakistani bowlers were going to target anybody then it was him. Upul Tharanga has been very good so far, however he failed in today’s match and went without scoring off the second ball of the innings. Jayasuriya followed soon after getting only 5 runs. Sri Lanka was never going to recover from 5-2 losing Jayasuriya so early.
They say its all about momentum in a Twenty20 game, and its true to some extent. With this win, Pakistan have gained a valuable 2 points and will look forward to their next match, where another win will surely see them through to the semi-finals. Can we have another India-Pakistan thriller in the semis? Only India’s performance and time will tell.
Click here for the full article
Yes, the chase was very much on. When you have a man like Jayasuriya in your team any total would look attainable. And his form has been nothing short of awesome so far in the series. If the Pakistani bowlers were going to target anybody then it was him. Upul Tharanga has been very good so far, however he failed in today’s match and went without scoring off the second ball of the innings. Jayasuriya followed soon after getting only 5 runs. Sri Lanka was never going to recover from 5-2 losing Jayasuriya so early.
They say its all about momentum in a Twenty20 game, and its true to some extent. With this win, Pakistan have gained a valuable 2 points and will look forward to their next match, where another win will surely see them through to the semi-finals. Can we have another India-Pakistan thriller in the semis? Only India’s performance and time will tell.
Click here for the full article
South Africa vs England, Group E
South Africa continued their unbeaten run in the Twenty20 World Cup with a comfortable 19 run win over England. After winning the toss, Collingwood had no hesitation to put South Africa in.
The South Africans did not start off very well and were 42-3 at one stage. However, good and sensible batting from Shaun Pollock, Justin Kemp and Albie Morkel kept them in the game and they finished with a challenging total of 154.
England started of in disastrous manner with Luke Wright getting out for a duck in the first over. Only Matt Prior and Owais Shah contributed to the score, the rest of the batting was very ordinary and had it not been for these two, this could have been an embarassing defeat for the English.
Its funny to think that England gave birth to Twenty20 cricket and their last two performances have been quite pathetic to say the least.
Read more at Kunalnanda.com
The South Africans did not start off very well and were 42-3 at one stage. However, good and sensible batting from Shaun Pollock, Justin Kemp and Albie Morkel kept them in the game and they finished with a challenging total of 154.
England started of in disastrous manner with Luke Wright getting out for a duck in the first over. Only Matt Prior and Owais Shah contributed to the score, the rest of the batting was very ordinary and had it not been for these two, this could have been an embarassing defeat for the English.
Its funny to think that England gave birth to Twenty20 cricket and their last two performances have been quite pathetic to say the least.
Read more at Kunalnanda.com
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Australia vs Bangladesh, Group F
Australia cruised to another win yesterday as they beat Bangladesh by 9 wickets and 37 balls to spare. Winning the toss, Ponting put Bangladesh in to bat.
Tamim Iqbal and Nazimuddin provided a 40 run opening partnership before Johnson broke through getting Nazimuddin to drive straight to Ponting who fumbled on his first attempt but managed to hold on. The highlight of the day was a hat-trick by Brett Lee in his third over. The final score read 123/8. Aftab Ahmad continued with his good form scoring 31 from 34 balls.
A total of 124 from 20 overs was never going to be challenging to a team like Australia. Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden provided a rollicking 104 run opening stand and it was only a question of when the match would be over. Australia and South Africa are on a roll now, and it wouldn't be surprising if these two met in the finals.
Image Source: Cricinfo.com
India vs New Zealand, Group E
The first match of the Super Eight ended in a close finish, with the Daniel Vettori led Kiwis winning by 10 runs. And did he lead, by god. The man has grown a lot in cricket, and it was all evident as he wound a magical spell around the top Indian batsmen known to be the best players of spin.New Zealand were asked to bat first and ended up making 190 runs thanks to solid contributions from Jacob Oram and Craig McMillan in the last 5 overs that cost 78 runs. India had done well uptil that moment and gave away far too many runs in the end. Agarkar, Sreesanth and Yuvraj were the most expensive, while Harbhajan was the best Indian bowler.
The run chase started in spectacular fashion with Sehwag and Gambhir smashing the bowling left, right and center. However, Vettori (man of the match) destroyed any chances of a win with an inspiring spell of spin bowling as he snagged the middle order. He finished with 4 wickets.
Image source: Cricinfo.com
For full article click here
Saturday, September 1, 2007
Warne knows what it takes to be Sachin
Names the Indian genius best cricketer ever.
Shane Warne announced the names of 10 cricketers who he thought were the best to have played the game till date and not much surprisingly he has named Sachin Tendulkar as the best he ever saw. Saying that the batsman was under pressure right from the day he started playing cricket Warne acknowledges his mental strength. Sachin has scored runs all over the world and continues to do so and never gets boggled down by wrong decisions of the umpires. The cricketer who comes second in the list is Brian Lara. Like Sachin he too has scored massive amounts of runs and is great to watch. Warne says that it was great to see Tendulkar perform so well under pressure when he came out to bat in India. Truly, Shane Warne is a big Tendulkar fan!
Shane Warne announced the names of 10 cricketers who he thought were the best to have played the game till date and not much surprisingly he has named Sachin Tendulkar as the best he ever saw. Saying that the batsman was under pressure right from the day he started playing cricket Warne acknowledges his mental strength. Sachin has scored runs all over the world and continues to do so and never gets boggled down by wrong decisions of the umpires. The cricketer who comes second in the list is Brian Lara. Like Sachin he too has scored massive amounts of runs and is great to watch. Warne says that it was great to see Tendulkar perform so well under pressure when he came out to bat in India. Truly, Shane Warne is a big Tendulkar fan!
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