SA Surrenders..Pak in Finals…[icc wt20,1st semi final]

You lose one game and you are out… This had happened to many teams in the past.But when it comes to big tournaments…big day…and big match…in a must win situation…one team had all the bad luck in the world…always…that is South Africa.This time it was no exemption.After doing all the hard work and being in the semis with a track record of not losing any match till then,South Africans were expected to cruise through to the finals against all odds and against any team on a given day.But destiny had written a different story for them…So near yet so far.. Another major championship went begging for the perfect team.South Africa lost to Pakistan in a match which they shouldnt have…the semis…and decieved themselves from the possibility of being the world champions.Pakistan in general and Afridi in particular came better holding their nerves to pull a win to enter the finals on thursday.

Nottingham…18th june 2009.Pakistan won the toss and had no hesitation in taking to bat.Things didnt start well as their opener Shahzaib departed for naught in the second over when the score was 8.But at the other end Akmal was playing fearless and fired all cylinders with a 12 ball 23 including 4 fours and a six.Steyn sent him back when he looked dangerous.Akmal fell in the 3rd over when the score was 28.Later Afridi and Malik put on 77 for the 3rd wicket in quick time aswell.Afridi made a 34 ball 51 with 8 hits to the boundary.He hammered 4 consecutive fours in the 11th over bowled by Botha.His heroics came to an end when he landed one into the hands of DeVilliers off Duminy in the 13th over when the score was 95.Later things slowed on for the Pakistanis.Malik departed in the 16th over after struggling to make 34 in 39 deliveries.Younis and Razzak tried to press the accelerator but the speed didnt pick up much for the desire of Pakistan.Pakistan could only make 149 at the end inspite of having 6 wickets in hand.This looked to be an easy piece of cake for the inform Proteas.But the threat was always there…the one of the chasing pressure and the other fact that the ball was not coming to the ball that easy which was indicated by the struggle of the Pakistani batsmen.In this context much planned and desired chase was desired from the South African batsmen.

South Africa chasing 150 to win had a decent start from their openers.They put on 40 for the 1st wicket.Smith struggled to connect the ball whereas his partner in form Kallis was batting with grit and pace at the other end.Smith made 10 in 14 balls and departed in the 6th over with the score reading 40.Then came the dangerous Afridi into the attack.After the bat show in the first session it was not over for him in the 2nd session as well.He struck twice in the 7th and 9th overs to dismiss Gibbs and DeVilliers cheaply.South Africa were left struggling at 50 for 3 in the midway of the 9th over.The required runrate was creeping,balls not coming to the bat and Proteas never recovered from this Afridi assault.On the other end much for the hope of the Africans Mr.Reliable…Kallis was carrying on with discipline as if he was all alone interested in seeing his team win…and with him at the crease anything can happen and the hope was always on for the Africans.Pakistan too knew that Kallis was a thorn in their fish.He is a match winner and they cant breath easy until he is holding crease at the other end.In the 18th over the pressure got better of Kallis.When Ajmal had him caught by Malik..he had made 64 in 53 deliveries including 7 fours and a six.Pakistan sighed relief as they felt they had got rid of more than half the team as Kallis meant that.With 39 required from 17 deliveries it almost looked an uphill task for the Proteas to accomplish.They needed a supermans innings from somebody.Duminy was giving a fight at the other end.The African bench looked desperate as the loss and quit was clearly visible in their eyes.He made 44 in 41 balls but couldnt take his team to victory.South Africa could only manage only 142 losing 5 wickets in the proceedings.South Africa lost the match by just 7 runs.Bad luck continued its alliance with this superb team.But the credit should not be taken from the gritty Pakistanis.They played superb aggressive cricket and more over as a unit.Afridi was adjudged the Man of the match for his masering efforts with the bat and the ball and for taking his team into the dream finals.It was the end of the road for the South Africans and they have to wait and see if their turn to win a great event comes atleast after 2 years in the 3rd version of the wt20 format.Good Bye and good luck Africans…You people have played a wonderful game of cricket…professionally.But Pakistan on the other hand entered the Finals of the t20 world cup for the 2nd consecutive time.It looked that they are determined not to repeat their mistakes what they had done in their lost finals against India two years ago.They were looking hungry to win the world cup.Can they establish history by writing their name on the world cup or whether the history is going to repeat against Pakistan again….We will watch and see.But for now ….Good Luck Pakistan…..Keep Going…..

Indians reject complimentary win,S.A in semis…[icc wt20,Sup8,match 12]

The dismal performance of team India continues even after being knocked out of the competition.Yet another loss at the hands of the inform Proteas on tuesday in a GroupE match of the super8 stage at Nottingham was nothing but rubbing salt on the wounds.Its a different story whether the injury or the salt really mattered for the Indian team.In a display of character and professional cricket,the South African team totally outplayed India in all the departments of the game and kept their record of being unbeaten in the competition straight.They won the match by 12 runs and cruised into the semis in style.Even without winning this match they would anyhow make it to the semis.Being out of competition already,Indians had nothing to lose.They would have atleast defeated the Proteas and took a complimentary win home.Even if the Proteas would go on to win the world cup,India would have proudly said that they were the only team to beat the Sout African team.But that was never to be.After the first session when the Indians restricted the South Africans for a meagre 130,it looked that India is all set to win atleast this match until they proved it wrong at the end.

Earlier South Africa won the toss and elected to bat first.They had a bad start much to the satisfaction of the Indians,when RP Singh bowled Gibbs when the score was 13 in the 2nd over.Smith and DeVilliers put on 46 runs for the 2nd wicket and effected the recovery.When the score was 59,Smith was out with a run a ball 26 being caught by Jadeja off Harbhajan.But India took control over the game at this situation and put the brakes on the run machine.South Africa struggled to make runs.The other batsmen did tiny contributions.Seeing the context of the match and its results,the 51 ball 63 made by DeVilliers becomes vital.He played sensibly knowing that the batting conditions were not good,holding ground at one end.He hit 7 fours in his innings.His effort took South Africa to a respectable but not so enough total when they ended with 130 for the loss of 5 wickets.Jadeja and Harbhajan bowled tight.

The Indian opening wicket stand was promising as Gambhir and Rohit put on 48 for the 1st wicket.Gambhir was the first to go for a 19 ball 21 including 3 boundaries,in the 7th over.7 runs later Raina went cheaply in the 9th over,followed in the parade by Rohit,Dhoni and Yusuf not troubling the scorers.Among them Rohit made a run a ball 29.India lost 4 wickets in a hurry,in a space of 4 and a half overs sharing 14 runs between them.This careless act of the top order put India in the dolldrums,in what should have been a comfortable win.The required run rate was in and around that threatning 10 per over mark in the last 6 overs.Yuvraj showed a lone unsupported resistence at the other end and made a run a ball 25.Harbhajan showing signs of anger hit a four and a six in his 15 ball 14.Asmall partnership of 31 runs between the two singhs gave some hopes to India,not before Harbhajan fell in the 18th over when India had just reached the 3 digit mark.India still required 31 off the last 16 balls at this stage and never looked impossible with Yuvraj at the other end.But fortune was not favouring the Indians.In the 19th over Steyn hit the final nail into the Indians coffin of hope when he had Yuvraj caught behind,the decission in question cleared later by the television umpire in favour of the bowler.Here India required 25 off the last 10 balls and pressure made India to score only 13 runs,thanks to wonderful bowling and fielding of the Proteas at the death,holding their nerves.South Africa won the match by 12 runs and entered the semis in style,where they meet the Pakistan team on thursday.That will be an interesting affair to see.For Africa Botha was the pick of the bowler taking 3 for 16 in his 4 overs.The other bowlers supported well.Steyn picked 2,Merwe and Duminy chipped in with a wicket each.India dejected yet again…come home with plenty of things to think and implement to better the Team India for future ventures in the international front,having not played as a unit.South Africa on the other hand go into the semis with a clean record of being unbeaten yet,alike Sri Lanka.Will they repeat the feat even there and head towards the big one…..is what we have to wait and see.But for time being…Good luck Proteas…..

South Africans rule England… [icc wt20, Sup8,match-2]

When the South Africans are on top,they make any team look an ordinary one and that was how they made the English team look in front of their own people on thursday,the 11th of june 2009,in the 2nd super 8 encounter of the t20 world cup at Nottingham.South Africa won the match which looked lie a one sided affair with 10 balls and their 7 wickets remaining.Earlier electing to bat having won the toss,England were struggling at 4 for the loss of 2 wickets with both their openers Bopara and Wright not troubling the scorers.Much was anticipated from Kevin Pietersen but the man who showed lots of guts and nerves against their must win match against Pakistan,didnt deliver goods this time.He was sent back by Morkel when he was looking good with a 17 ball 19 including 4 hits to the fence and the board read 25 for 3.But a partnership of 53 runs for the 4th wicket between captain Collingwood and Shaw gave hopes of rivival in the English camp.Collingwood made a run a ball 19 whereas Shah top scored for England with a 33 ball 38 including 3 hits to the fence and 2 clearing the wire.Kallis dismissed both of them in his impressive figures of 2 for 20 in 3 overs.The partnership didnt cause much worry to the Proteas as the wickets tumbled like a pack of cards once it was broken.They somehow managed to reach 111 runs after having lost their 8 wickets ahen the score was 92.England were allout at the Nelson score,much to their belief they lost the last two wickets before the score went past 111.Nelson is omnious……isnt it….atleast for the English….either the Nelson or the English team prove it true everytime.Parnell was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3 for 14 in 3.5 overs,well supported by tight and disciplined bowlin of Kallis and Merwe who took 2 wickets each and Steyn,Morkel and Botha chipping with a wicket each.

With the strong South African batting lineup in terrific form,the chase was never difficult unless some unlucky twist came in their way.But that was never to happen as the fortune favours the brave.The early loss  of skipper Smith when the score was on 17,might have got some relief in the English camp,but that was neither to affect the intentions of the Proteas nor the result of the match.A 80 run partnership for the 2nd wicket between the man in form Kallis(59 runs,49 balls, 5 fours and a six) and the man who was trying to come along the runs,Gibbs(run a ball 30, 2 fours and a 6) took the game away from England.Swann bowled Gibbs when the total was 91,but all the work had already been done by then.AB de Villiers didnt stay long.Duminy joined Kallis to finish of the proceedings and took their team to a comfortable win.English bowlers bowled tightly,but their batsmen had not given them plenty of runs to defend.Kallis was adjudged the man of the match for his all round performance with the ball and the bat.South Africa have crossed one hurdle and have two to come in their way in the form of West Indies and India.But i dont think they will mind much,especially the form in which they are in they can be considered unbeatable.But it gives an impression that they will take the matches as they come and for now its party time for them…let them enjoy their success……

Proteas better Kiwis by 1 run…[icc wt20 day 5]

We have often seen in cricket that a cloud of negligence and ease creeps over on the team chasing especially when the target is low. Low scores are often taken for granted. But it is always thes petty scores in cricket that have successfully upset the opponents and have produced unexpected results.Similar results came along in the way of the Black caps…New Zealanders when they underestimated a small total and ended up losing the battle with a sneak edge,a margin of just 1 run in the final ball of their match against South Africans on tuesday,the 9th of june 2009 at London.

Chasing a formidable score of 128, the kiwis fell short of one run to finish off clean in the league after doing all their homework in the first session. Earlier the mighty Africans were bundled out for 128 by a disciplined bowling and fielding performance by the Kiwis. The Proteas struggled all the way to reach that total.All plans worked out in favour of McCullum,the Kiwis captain.In the context of the game and seeing what happened in the end,it can be concluded that the first wicket partnership of 49 runs in 7 overs between Kallis(24 in 23 balls, 2 fours and a six) and skipper Smith(33 off 35, 4 fours) was worth a million.McCullum effected a beautiful run out to dismiss Kallis,who was looking in good nick.When the score was on 63,the Proteas lost 3 quick wickets of Smith,Gibbs and Merwe for 2 runs in a space of 13 deliveries.They never recovered from this collapse and things went tougher for them since their reliable players were back.Duminy and DeVilliers tried to get going adding some runs to the board slowly,not until the later was run out for 15 effected by Guptill.Duminy made some hitting work in the last over and aided Africa to reach 128. The Proteas lost 7 wickets in the proceedings. For S.Africa Duminy made 29 off 23 balls with a four and a couple of sixes.Smith top scored with 33.All the Kiwi bowlers bowled well but the pick of them was Butler with 2 for 13 in 4 overs.N.McCullum and Styris were consistent and picked a wicket each.Mills took 1 wicket too.

What seemed to be an easy chase looked difficult when New Zealand lost 2 wickets quickly in the form of Guptill and Broom who didnt trouble the scorers.B.McCullum and Taylor did the repair work. The scoring pattern was not different from what the Africans did.The match looked lifeless. Couldnt the Kiwis really play or whether they were playing casual and safe sensing a comfortable win even before it came was the question which arose seeing the proceedings.Whatever….things went too slow for the Black caps.McCullum made a drafted 57(54 balls,6 fours) and Taylor made 22(31 balls) in the partnership of 56 runs off 63 balls for the 3rd wicket which kept momento going in favour of Kiwis.Their smile was not to go any further.Merwe introduced into the attack removed both these set batsmen and turned the match in favour of Proteas.His match winnin effort in which he took 2 important wickets for just 14 runs in 4 overs fetched him the man of the match honours.The next part of the story would belong to those who held their nerves at crunch…no prices for guessing that the Proteas had stronger nerves which cot control of the nervous Kiwis….but the guess couldnt have been made until the last ball was bowled.Oram gave a stiff fight at the death scoring 24 off 18 deliveries for his team,but in vain.The Kiwis needed 15 runs off the last over with 6 wickets in hand.But in pressure situations it is not the number of wickets in hand that matters but it is how you handle it with cool….and thats what New Zealand couldnt do.4 runs required from the last ball…one hit to the fence would have done it for Kiwis…but thats the difference between hit and miss…. and it was miss which was written in the fate of black caps.Oram managed 2 and was run out trying for a third which was never there,denying the possibility of even a tie and…..then a super over…..but thats a distant story.Kiwis lost the match with an agonizing 1 run margin…..a moral to plan the chase or never to carry the chase till the last over in a t20 match.Both teams were anyhow in the super 8′s …not to worry much.But the team which held the nerves emerged better among the two……