Ind vs SL:2nd ODI- India start badly, End well, Dhoni makes century..

Vidarbha Cricket Association ground, Nagpur, 18th dec 2009- 2nd ODI between India and Sri Lanka took way when India leading the series 1-0 won the toss and elected to bet first. India after winning a thriller in their first encounter was expected to go all fires in the 2nd one too.

2nd test,day3: India make Lanka bat again…

Day3 of the 2nd test match between India and Sri Lanka- No one would have thought at the beginning of the day that…the Lankan team would surrender so easily…without any evidence of a passionable fight out.

Aus v/s India: 4th ODI…India surrenders without trying much…Tail wag insufficient

2nd november 2009….PunjabCricket association ground…Mohali. The 4th ODI between Australia and India had to be played…with India leading the series 2-1. India won the toss and chose to field. The decission to field first by captain Dhoni was complimented by the bowlers when they bundled out the Aussies for a formidable 250 which was chasable…seeing the batting order of India. The Indian bowlers were always on top during the course of the game. They denied a big score by takin 6 of their wickets giving just 33 runs in the final 7 overs when Aussies would have planned to accelerate the run machine.Watson made a 52 ball 49 at the top and the middle order was steadied by 52 and 62 runs respectively by Ponting and White…a useful run a ball 40 coming from Hussey aswell.Nehra was the pick of the bowlers for India with 3 for 37 from 8 overs.Harbhajan bowled tidy to take 2 for 48 in his 10 overs.Indians effected 4 run outs showing fielding skills just for a change.

Now it was Indias turn to get one more than Australia and take a lead in the series….and as usual when it matters India doesnt make use of opportunities…and it was not a different story this time aswell.Sehwag and Sachin gave a good start for India puttin 40 runs for the first wicket.He was caught by Watson off Bolinger for a brisk 19 ball 30 with 7 blisterig fours.Sachin made a useful 40 before being out leg before to Hauritz in the 19th over.Later Kohli, Yuvraj, Dhoni and Raina couldnt stabilise the start in the middle and made meagre contributions.When Ponting effected a run out of Jadeja…going for 7…in the 39th over…India were struggling with 177 for 7 with 73 runs needed to win with nothing much left…since the tail had to wag and wag too good.Harbhajan gave a gallent fight making 31 in just 25 hitting 5 fours and a six..and Praveen contributing a good 16 as well…but it was not to be enough…India fell short of 24 runs and were bundled out for 226 with 20 balls remaining. Another display of unplanned Indian team…saw Aussies levelling the series at 2-2.Bollinger and Watson took 3 wickets each and effected damage at frequent intervals.Hauritz with 2 for 31 in 9 overs provided the essential support.

For a wonderful innings of 49 runs with the bat and for claiming 3 crucial wickets….Shane Watson was adjudged the man of the match.

Australia…conquer the world again…

Pakistan crowned the ‘World Champions’..[icc wt20 finals]

Sunday…the 21st of june 2009…Lords- England…the big one…the Grand Finale of the icc t20 world cup which would decide who would be the champions for the next two years. It would obviously be either Pakistan or the Sri Lankans.

Dilshan Fires Windies,Lankans in Finals…[icc wt20,2nd semifinal]

Sri Lankans new slogan should be..’Why Fear When DILSHAN is Here…’ Such is the form shown by this transformed Lankan cricketer offlate.He has become an asset to their team.With the Pakistanis waiting already in the Finals…the debate was who would play on that big day with them?Is it Lanka to make an all Asian..all Sub-continent Finals as was two years ago?Is it the mighty West Indies who are in a fine knick and are trying to get back the glory of the yester years of the Windies cricket?Only the soil of Oval,London would answer the questions on Friday,the 19th june 2009 when it takes on the battle of pride and honour between the two titans of the cricket.

Oval,London…2nd semi finals…big day….big game.West Indies won the toss and elected to put the opposition to bat first.Lankan openers Dilshan and Jayasurya gave a decent start to the innings until they were departed in the 11th over with the score board reading a healthy score of 73 runs.While Jayasurya struck to one end and struggled to collect runs,Dilshan looked confident and determined at the other end and did most of the scoring in the partnership.He was as reliable as ever and stuck to his task of building the innings.He never looked out of pace or under pressure indicating the terrific touch he has been in the past few months.He hit the ball hard to all the corners showing no mercy to any of the bowlers and looked as if he was on a destructive mission.He played through the innings and was undefeated at the end.But he fell just short of what could have been a terrific hundred by a meagre 4 runs.In his mastered knock of 96,which came in just 57 deliveries..he hit 2 sixes and a dozen boundaries.It was a run feast to watch.Jayasurya made a 37 ball24…unusual of him.None of the batsmen other than Dilshan troubled the scorers and everybody seemed to be under pressure when one batsman was going great guns at the other end.Dilshan got no support what so ever from the other end and it looked as if Dilshan was not waiting or anticipating for something like that to happen.His innings became very vital for the Lankans in the context of the match.The debate was what troubled the other batsmen of both the teams…even after seeing the end results of the match….from scoring the runs or atleast connecting their timber with the ball….which didnt trouble Dilshan.The pitch looked tailor made for Dilshan.The match looked like Dilshan vs Windies.Losing half their side Lankans finished with a competible 158 on board keeping the SriLankan strong bowling attack into consideration.At the end Mathews came in handy hitting a four and a six in his 4 ball 12.For Windies Bravo took 2 wickets but Sammy bowled consistently though he didnt pick up a wicket.

In reply the West Indies had the worst possible start any team could have…more hurting was that it came at a wrong time and in a wrong match which mattered for the Windies.After the Dilshan rampage with the bat…it was Mathews with the ball.He came as a omnious lightening into the Windies camp and drafted their destruction.He ripped into the top order of the Windies and took 3 wickets in the first over of the 2nd session.Wickets went every alternate ball and before the Windies could realize what was happening…everything was over for them.Mathews shattered all the dreams of the Windies who now believed that something magic should come in their way if they had to make it to the finals.History of international cricket has hardely witnessed any team recovering from a position where they have lost their first three batsmen without a run being put on the board and go on to win the match.Sri Lankans gained an upper hand on the match much before their expectations…thanks to the mini thunder from Mathews which shook the Windies tree by its roots.Though captain Gayle gave a gallent fight there was not much of the support which he could get from either of his partners at the other end,not even from the likes of senior players like Chanderpaul or Sarwan.Windies never recovered from the injury caused by Mathews.Much to support Mathews,the spin wizards Murali and Mendis used the platform well and made sure that the Windies never bounced back.They picked 5 wickets between them with Murali taking 3 for 29 and Mendis with a tight spell as ever with 2 for 9.Gayle made an impressive and fighting 63 in just 50 balls,with 8 fours and 2 sixes…but that was not sufficient for him to win the match for his team.Another heroic knock was wasted by the whole team.The next highest score was in the form of extras.None of the Windies batsmen could reach double digits in the shameful chase.West Indies dream run in the world cup came to an end when the whole team were dismissed for 101 with 14 balls to go.Sri Lanka won the big one by 57 runs and headed their journey into the finals where they will be meeting their counterparts and neighbours from the sub continent…the mighty Pakistanis.But not to worry much…Lankans are still unbeaten in the competition unlike Pakistan.Whether Pakistan can cause an upset in the sunday finals and break the winning streak of the Lankans on the big day is an interesting fact to wait and watch.Dilshan was adjudged the man of the match.For now it will be an all Asian Final..the big one… Sri Lanka vs Pakistan….what a match to watch!!! Good luck to the worlds two best teams……

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…..

Lankans outplay Kiwis,Enter Semis…[icc wt20,Sup8,match 11]

In a Group F match at Nottingham on tuesday,Sri Lnkans electing to bat after winning the toss had a bad start to the proceedings when Jayasurya went without opening his account when the score was 3.Being a virtual quarterfinal,both the teams knew that they have to win the match to qualify for the semis.Silva was out when the total was 25 making only 13 runs.Dilshan,at the other end was playing with determination.A 62 run stand between Dilshan and Sangakkara kept things going in favour of Lankans.Dilshan was the 3rd man to go with a well made 48 which came off 37 deliveries including 5 hits to the fence.The score board at that instance read 87 for 3.Sangakkara at the other end was a part of another half century partnership with Jayawardane.He made a run a ball 35 and was dismissed by Vettori when the score was 137.Jayawardane made sure that he stayed till the end and collected some runs enough for his bowlers to defend.In small partnerships with Mubarak and Mathews he made a gritty 41 in just 29 deliveries with 6 boundaries and a six.He was undefeated till the end and enabled Lanka to reach a 150 run plus mark.Lanka finished at 158 losing 5 wickets.Vettori picked 2 for 32 for NZ.N.McCullam and Oram at the other end bowled tidy.

New Zealand started well.Redmond took the attack straight into the opponents camp and made his intentions clear when he hit 3 fours and a six in the 2nd over bowled by Jayasurya.But his bravery was a short lived one.NZ lost 2 quick wickets in space of 9 runs.B.McCullum was first to go falling prey for Udana.Redmond thunder pacified after a tremendous roar.He was dismissed by Malinga for a well made 23 in 13 balls.At the other end Guptill was going great guns.Another disaster upset the Kiwis when Mendis struck twice to get rid of Taylor and Styris in quick successions within a space of 3 deliveries in the 9th over.The New Zealanders never recovered from this trauma and a come in go out parade was seen.Guptill made a 34 ball 43 with 4 hits to the rope and one more clearing it.But that was not to be enough at the end.He was dismissed by Jayasurya when the score was 95 in the fourth ball of the 14th over.By then the Black caps needed plenty of runs with few wickets in hand.The result that the NZ team will surrender was clearly evident with enormous pressure creeping on the tail.As expected the tail didnt wag much and the last 4 wickets fell for just 15 runs.NZ could only manage 110 in 17 overs,leaving way for the Lankans to march into the semis in front of them.For Lanka all the bowlers bowled with discipline as they have been doing all throughout the tournament.Udana picked 2 for 17 in 3 overs and Murali 1 for 18 in 4 overs.Jayasurya and Malinga too chipped in with a wicket each.But the man who brought the Lankans back into the game was Mendis who was adjudged the man of the match for his match winning figures of 3 for 9 in 3 overs.Sri Lankans top the table with this 48 run win and play the West Indies in the semi finals on friday at Kennington oval.The Lankans are still undefeated in the competition.Hope they carry it out even in the semis and make it to the grand finale.All the best to team Lanka…..

England rattles India’s dreams….. [icc wt20,Sup8,game 8]

Indias dreams of defending the icc wt20 championship came to an end when they lost a close encounter to the English team by just 3 runs on sunday,the 14th june,in the 8th game of the super8 stage.Earlier,at the Lords,London- put into bat by India,England managed a modest total of 153 losing 7 wickets in the proceedings.RP Singh playing for the first time in the championship started off the proceedings wonderfully for India.Dhoni’s men got the desired start when Wright got out skying the ball to Pathan off RP when the score was 3.A71 run partnership for the 2nd wicket put the things going in favour of the English team.Pietersen and Bopara came to the party.Bopara made a run a a ball 37 with  3 fours and a six.Pietersen made a brisk 46 off 27 deliveries with 5 fours and a six.Ravindra Jadeja,playing his first match of the world cup brought the breakthrough for India when he dismissed Bopara when the score was 74.Jadeja stricked back for the second time and dismissed Pietersen who was living dangerously and reduced England for 92 for 3 after 13 overs.Indian bowlers struck in successions and bowled with discipline here afterwards and didnt allow the home team to build a massive total.Mascarenhas with a 27 ball 25 came in handy,but there was no support from the other end.The other batsmen perished cheaply giving an upper hand to the Indians.Harbhajan was the pick of the bowlers with 3 for 30 and was even on a hat trick when he dismissed Foster and Swann in successive deliveries.England lost 7 wickets and managed 153 runs.For the strong Indian batting lineup this target should have been a very easy one.But the story went the other side and India only managed to mess it up.

Once again a worst possible start by the Indian top order saw India go on its knees at the end.Ryan Sidebottom created havoc in the Indian camp.He got rid of Rohit Sharma and Raina for beautifully bowled short pitched deliveries.The batsmen didnt see off the initial few balls but fell preys for temptations and undue heroics.They gave away their wickets easily picking up the wrong balls too early and made things easier for the Englishmen.In the 4th over the score was 24 for 2.Gambhir made a run a ball26 with 4 hits to the fencebefore he was dismissed by Mascarenhas. Jadeja promoted up the order ahead of Yuvraj who was in terrific form proved a wrong step for Dhoni.Jadeja made 25 but very slowly in 35 balls as if taking his own time,only to slow down the runrate.Half way through,Indians were struggling with more than 10 runs required per over if they have to win.Yuvraj started aggressively with a six in the first ball he faced.Swann came up in the 14th over to strike twice and dismissed Jadeja and Yuvraj in space of 2 balls which could be considered as the final nail in the Indian Coffin.This was a breakthru and a comeback point for the England team.They rose to the occassion and contained the Indian batsmen from reaching the target.Jadeja skied one in frustration into the safe hands of Broad.Foster came up with a beautiful piece of stumping off Swann to end the reign of the dangerous Yuvraj.Dhoni and Yusuf went going for India,but couldnt score the runs at the pace required.The required runrate alwys creeped on them.Dhoni’s 20 ball 30 and a breezy 17 ball 33 by Yusuf Pathan including 2 sixes coming out in anger didnt see India going past the target.India required to get 19 in the last over,which was alwys an uphill task.Sidebottom was given the testing over against two hitting batsmen and he came better over them conceeding only 15.India much to the disappointment of the Indian supporters lost the match by 3 runs.This also brought an agonising end to the dream run of the Indian team to defend thier title,glory and fame.The combination of many factors like indisciplined bowling wherein they gave away 15 plus extra runs,assisted by a shabby fielding where they gave away 10 to 15 more runs,an irresponsible,pathetic and dismal batting show and probably an element of overconfidence let the Indian team down.But hats off to the English team for holding their nerves and delivering when it mattered the most.They will now go ahead with a confidence of beating the world champions.But on the other side the fact was that India never played like champions and never ever showed signs of it.Sidebottom was adjudged the player of the match.India has to play a formal match against the inform Proteas on tuesday before they pack up.Adding insult to the injury…will there be another humilition?…in the hands of the Africans or can India get a complementary win is what we should wait and see.But seeing the forms of both the teams one can predict what is on the cards.Better not disturb your sleep.England now knows that they have every chance to make it to the semi finals,but they have to overcome a big hurdle called West Indies on Monday to make it.Whichever team wins that encounter will make it to the final four…and the other will join India…..

Lankans pull out from defeat..reach semis… [icc wt20,Sup8,match 7]

The Lankans overcame the cloud of defeat in the hands of Ireland and headed towards semis,when it looked that the Irish team were all set to cause another upset.Keeping their winning streak intact in the championship the Sri Lankans pulled out the thriller and snatched victory from the hands of the victory when they beat Ireland by a meagre 9 runs at London on Sunday,the 14th of june,in the super 8 stage.Batting first Lankans had a disasterous first session when the last 5 wickets fell for just 15 runs.They didnt have a healthy start aswell.Opener in form Dilshan kept going in the first ball of the match.Sangakkara too didnt diaturb the scorers.At the end of the powerplay the board read 28 for 2.Senior players Jayasurya and Jayawardane did the repair work when they put on 67 runs in 49 balls for the 3rd wicket.When Jayasurya departed with a run a ball 27,the score was 81 for 3 in the 12th over.But the 53 ball 78 scored by the man of the match Jayawardane became crucial in the context of the game since he contributed for more than half of the teams total.In his wonderfully drafted batting display he scored 9 boundaries and a six.A tiny partnership looked going between Jayawardane and Mubarak for the 5th wicket when they put on 29 runs,but once that partnership was broken the Lankans lost their last 5 wickets for only 14 runs by a terrific comeback of the Irelanders.Sri Lanka was bundled out for 144 losing 9 wickets,which looked chasable.Cusack was the pick of the bowlers for the Irish with 4 for 18 in his 3 overs.It would have well been a man of the match effort had the Irish team won over the Lankans.Rankin and McCallan picked 2 each and Johnston kept things tight apart from taking a wicket.

The Irelanders in reply had a good start with their opening duo putting 59 for the 1st wicket.Porterfield made 31 whereas N.O’brien made 29.Things were very much under control for the Irish even when they lost their 2nd wicket for 87.They looked as if they were cruising through for yet another win upsetting the strong Lankans.But little did they know that the spin dua Mendis and Murali would shater their dreams.Both the spinners bowled tightly and chocked the Irish batsmen from both the ends.The inexperience of the Irish team was well evident that they pushed themselves into defeat which should otherwise have been a galent victory.Ireland messed it up unable to read the Lankan bowlers.They lost 6 wickets in a space of 42 runs.Mooney and White chipped in with 31 and 22 runs respectively in quick time aswell,but in vain.Ireland could on manage 135 runs losing 7 wickets and they fell short of only 9 runs to win.For Sri Lanka the spells of Mendis with 2 for 33 and Murali with 1 for 13 did a containment act and dragged Lankans from the clutches of defeat when Ireland were cruising along.Not to forget the contribution of Malinga who bowled tightly to end up with figures of 2 for 19 in 4 overs.Irelands fairy tale at the world cup seems to have come to an end. Sri Lankans should on the other side should take the victory with a lesson of caution for the further matches,because as said…Every day is not a sunday….