tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56783808986359808762024-02-19T08:54:40.373+05:30The Cricket BlogCricket Maniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10595620582040267502noreply@blogger.comBlogger138125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678380898635980876.post-43662849111900369552011-02-08T12:46:00.001+05:302011-02-08T12:47:32.067+05:30Cricket Maniac is Getting Married!!!Hey all you Cricket folks,<div><br /></div><div>Your favourite Cricket Blogger - Cricket Maniac is getting married to the love of her life on Feb 13th 2011.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(132, 179, 32); font-size: 20px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; ">Get an ostensible free in every box!</span></div>Cricket Maniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10595620582040267502noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678380898635980876.post-88216947389192502322010-09-27T00:27:00.003+05:302010-09-27T00:50:12.133+05:30Chennai Wins Champions League T20<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9GjeGpOWG-nTSIOR12OXoa0iXeFBId3FOsBG_ppbaCmm4CUmHZS4awaHtuOaJhNzAKEDeW4wdyRXLG_tgvCsiCRN57QMwTQ0bNY2zuhCmJwZK9YsgPibnEG6DKUyxs9bD4xvTfw48DeHI/s1600/Chennai+Wins+Airtel+Champions+League+T20.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 247px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9GjeGpOWG-nTSIOR12OXoa0iXeFBId3FOsBG_ppbaCmm4CUmHZS4awaHtuOaJhNzAKEDeW4wdyRXLG_tgvCsiCRN57QMwTQ0bNY2zuhCmJwZK9YsgPibnEG6DKUyxs9bD4xvTfw48DeHI/s320/Chennai+Wins+Airtel+Champions+League+T20.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521304157344401986" /></a><br />Chennai Super Kings became the first Indian team to win the Airtel Champions League T20 Tournament. Chennai defeated South African domestic T20 winner, Warriors. Warriors batted first in the most crucial match of the tournament and Chennai bowlers, especially the spinners, played a huge part in restricting the Warriors. Warriors managed to score just 128/7 in their alloted 20 overs. Chennai chased the target with precision.<div><br /></div><div>Warriors won the toss and elected to bat first. They have cracker of a start, but could not convert them into a big one. Their captain and opening batsmen Jacobs had been the best batsmen of Warriors in the tournament and today was no exception. Jacobs scored 34 off just 21 balls, but once his wicket fell, Warriors lost their way & submitted to the bowling of Muttaih Muralitharan & R Ashwin, who took 5 wickets of the total 7. Doug Bollinger & Albie Morkel also took 1 wicket apiece. In the lower order<span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px; white-space: nowrap; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">, </span></span>Thyssen scored a quickfire 25 off 18 balls & took the team to a fighting total of 128.</div><div><br /></div><div>Chennai was always in the control of the chase and their openers Murali Vijay & Michael Hussey shared a 103 run partnership for the 1st wicket and this ensured their win. Warriors' bowlers tried very hard, but they could do nothing about these two. Both the openers made cracking half centuries. Vijay scored 58 off 53 balls, with 6 fours and 2 sixes, whereas Hussey remained unbeaten on 51 off 46 balls. It was a calm & controlled innings by Hussey, as always! In the end, Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni hit a six & a four to win the tournament & complete the 'double' of IPL victory and Champions League.</div><div><br /></div><div>R Ashwin was declared Man of the Series for taking 13 wickets. He was outstanding throughout the tournament except for that super over defeat against Victoria Bushrangers.<span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"> </span></span>Murali Vijay gets the Golden bat for scoring the most number of runs & R Ashwin gets the Golden Wicket.</div>Cricket Maniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10595620582040267502noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678380898635980876.post-50014506222419653042010-08-30T23:11:00.004+05:302010-08-30T23:33:09.682+05:30The Tour Will Go On<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmYPQnrI78Ga7RTutXNTZ7UZqbh9Vqn1JVDSc2zsPWygVvT4btp1bG8jTjVcaJeXf-Mvf_tTUIhHpI4J6jsPWvt7TvNXmN80VLvzbjOqXxVwal8H1cHJN7MMMvfAgrUdAh9WYnCz9zcPVS/s1600/Salman+Butt.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 229px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmYPQnrI78Ga7RTutXNTZ7UZqbh9Vqn1JVDSc2zsPWygVvT4btp1bG8jTjVcaJeXf-Mvf_tTUIhHpI4J6jsPWvt7TvNXmN80VLvzbjOqXxVwal8H1cHJN7MMMvfAgrUdAh9WYnCz9zcPVS/s320/Salman+Butt.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511265015500334178" border="0" /></a><br />In spite of all match fixing controversies surrounding Pakistan Cricket team, the team management has decided to continue the tour. In fact, the team has arrived in Taunton. Meanwhile, the 'Center of Attraction', Mazhar Majeed, has been released on bail by Scotland Yard Police. Also, the three alleged players, Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Amir & captain Salman Butt, whose mobile phones were confiscated, have also travelled to Somerset, with the team.<br /><br />The whole Pakistan has mixed sorts of emotions; people are cursing their 'heroes'. Some are crying over the incident, while some are still not ready to believe the 'spot fixing' allegations. The media, former players and fans, all are very disappointed with these sorts of allegations. Some former players are putting all the blame on PCB for not reacting on One dayer and T20 Captain Shahid Afridi's warning of keeping Pakistani players away from Majeed Brothers.<br /><br />Andrew Strauss, on the other hand, showed mixed feelings. He, on the one side, was very happy to win the test from the position of losing; on the other hand; he also looks dejected on the possibility of deleting the Test Match's records from the history.<br /><br />Pakistan team manager Yawar Saeed, on the other hand, said that the tour will continue as per the itinerary, with a warm up game against Somerset at Taunton, scheduled for Thursday.Cricket Maniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10595620582040267502noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678380898635980876.post-41150697044876590762010-08-21T01:14:00.003+05:302010-08-21T01:20:15.130+05:30Sri Lanka New Zealand Match Got Abandoned Again<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg72w0NFNgCsR3BhNLXA0LVzLGFTlfY8hbrfiHSS0XATRXKIGZ_RoriSLiSBIx66r8nNFmNlR-a2GJevz_UXKQC8k2pkMc9nXYxkV6dFWpk1_vEskIZdAlK8NxnxhdBT0c4MWpH006m1fR3/s1600/Kumar+Sangakkara.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 310px; height: 292px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg72w0NFNgCsR3BhNLXA0LVzLGFTlfY8hbrfiHSS0XATRXKIGZ_RoriSLiSBIx66r8nNFmNlR-a2GJevz_UXKQC8k2pkMc9nXYxkV6dFWpk1_vEskIZdAlK8NxnxhdBT0c4MWpH006m1fR3/s320/Kumar+Sangakkara.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507581757481889954" /></a><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">After getting the match postponed for one day because of excessive rains, the ODI between Sri Lanka and New Zealand have been abandoned and the two teams have to get satisfied by sharing equal points. Sri Lanka was 203 for 3 in 43.4 overs, when the match got stopped due to rain.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:medium;">Meanwhile, Srilankan Captain Kumar Sangakkara has been founded a level 2 accused of breaching ICC Code of Conduct when he get collided by New Zealand off-spinner Nathan McCullum, The incident occurred in the 27th over of the Sri Lankan innings. Sangakkara guided a McCullum delivery to fine leg and set off for a run. He was turning for the second when he bumped into the bowler, who had his back to Sangakkara. McCullum complained to the umpire and Sangakkara also had words with him.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:medium;">This has been rather an unfortunate series for Sri Lanka.First some players got injured and some of them were down with Dengue fever; then the Suraj Randiv - Virender Sehwag 'no-ball' controversy & defeat against India (and that too without achieving a single point) and now the captain Kumar Sangakkara has ran into trouble. We think that Sri Lanka has to overcome their fortune also, apart from India and New Zealand.</span></p>Cricket Maniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10595620582040267502noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678380898635980876.post-86619889765376808902010-08-19T22:01:00.006+05:302010-08-19T22:30:01.209+05:30Veteran Yousuf Helps Pakistan take control<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmJxmbdr9yGvp9TbQ8gXQnOW-CepiIoXDlfJiB6dXUCCl7bXV7u2wHak4e36BySykmRLMsvOLVi1jFeWVM-tiuBtsD7ACVoO26EFRDmU2VvrEUnQ_liURMPk7RnKzUxx-MdTKIb33BcqtR/s1600/Mohd.+Yousuf.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 251px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmJxmbdr9yGvp9TbQ8gXQnOW-CepiIoXDlfJiB6dXUCCl7bXV7u2wHak4e36BySykmRLMsvOLVi1jFeWVM-tiuBtsD7ACVoO26EFRDmU2VvrEUnQ_liURMPk7RnKzUxx-MdTKIb33BcqtR/s320/Mohd.+Yousuf.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507166738234345938" /></a><br />In the second test at The Oval, Pakistan's returning batsman Mohd. Yousuf made a patient half century to help Pakistan take lead in the ongoing Test match. Apart from Mohd. Yousuf, new batsman Azhar Ali made a patient half century and is still batting (when the blog is posted) on 66 and is the leading scorer in Pakistan's first innings as they take a lead of 45 runs in the first innings.<div><br /></div><div>Pakistan, on the other hand, restricted England to a mere 233, thanks mainly to a first 5 wicket haul for the debutant Wahab Riaz, who took 5-63 in his first ever test innings. Pacer Mohd. Asif took 3 wickets and played an important role in restricting England to 233.</div><div><br /></div><div>Pakistan were 276 when the last news came in. For England, G.P. Swann took 3 wickets.</div>Cricket Maniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10595620582040267502noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678380898635980876.post-57927048919541972892010-08-19T21:41:00.004+05:302010-08-19T22:00:16.658+05:30Match Abandoned<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtW9wK-uw5C5pY7Eh1KvC6v1XpQu2GTrzOmYjeSFQv45HDdgUkH4gdMjE2FkS348zGzosDqpOoIdScSqWqdXDVF9_As4LWHHResKKsd00COlJv0NH8FQuI85Pxvbar-1gCGm9aaDy4bzHt/s1600/New+Zealand+Vs+Sri+Lanka.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 310px; height: 196px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtW9wK-uw5C5pY7Eh1KvC6v1XpQu2GTrzOmYjeSFQv45HDdgUkH4gdMjE2FkS348zGzosDqpOoIdScSqWqdXDVF9_As4LWHHResKKsd00COlJv0NH8FQuI85Pxvbar-1gCGm9aaDy4bzHt/s320/New+Zealand+Vs+Sri+Lanka.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507159101319472130" /></a><br />Hey All,<div><br /></div><div>Your Favourtie Cricket Maniac is Back. From now on, the update on your favourite cricket blog will be regular. I PROMISE.</div><div><br /></div><div>Meanwhile, the fourth match between New Zealand and Sri Lanka have been abandoned due to heavy rain. This came as a surprise as this was the first ever ODI that was abandoned in Dambulla. However, the points will not be distributed till tomorrow, where the two teams will toss again and might play (obviously, if the weather allows, as tomorrow is the reserve day). </div><div><br /></div><div>Sri Lanka have to come harder on their opponents as they are on a back foot after the 'Suraj Randiv' No-Ball controversy.</div><div><br /></div><div>New Zealand, on the other hand, included the big all-rounder Jacob Oram and batsman Graham Elliott and leaving batsman Martin Guptill due to an injury. However, both the teams have new opportunity to rename the final XI.</div>Cricket Maniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10595620582040267502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678380898635980876.post-60596392224416334132010-02-19T10:16:00.003+05:302010-02-19T12:04:50.628+05:30India Defeats South Africa<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkPS0apOB4SaapV6nzLROG8wFZvGgKsr0PDljp_8qbQkVmUHlAE5AW8aLzY0t0T9o_EJVTdzrNkeUP7twnlGRyLvPV0YRoh_6iUvWiLt-dBLgBScHVQOQ_tpUQU_jRBMfTgK5il9ICBPqp/s1600-h/Harbhajan+Singh.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 238px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkPS0apOB4SaapV6nzLROG8wFZvGgKsr0PDljp_8qbQkVmUHlAE5AW8aLzY0t0T9o_EJVTdzrNkeUP7twnlGRyLvPV0YRoh_6iUvWiLt-dBLgBScHVQOQ_tpUQU_jRBMfTgK5il9ICBPqp/s320/Harbhajan+Singh.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439811684453980514" border="0" /></a><br />India defeats South Africa by an innings and 58 runs to retain the No 1 spot in the ICC Test Ratings. India would have lost the Numero Uno status, if they've lost this match or even played a draw. Though, India does not have any Test match in this year, it would be very interesting to see, how long can they stay at the top.<br /><br />As far as this match goes, India won emphatically, despite a fighting century by the middle order batsman hashim Amla. Amla remained unbeaten on 127 but South Africa was unable to play the necessary overs today. Had South Africa played those last 9 balls, the efforts of Harbhajan Singh (5 wickets), Amit Mishra (3 wickets) and Ishant Sharma (2 wickets) would have gone in vain.<br /><br />South African batsmen (apart from Amla) only looked to pass the time in the middle and were interested in sticking to the pitch, whereas Amla attacked the bowling, as and when he got a lose delivery. India had their moments regularly, as both the spinners get wickets at regular intervals. They broke the partnerships when they seemed stubborn and dangerous. Amla was their main target; however they were unable to take his wicket. Other batsmen just played around him.<br /><br />India would have however, won this game pretty easily, had the rain not made this match such a nail biting finish. Indian supporters looked down when the final overs were going on. Then came the magical over of Harbhajan Singh, who was the real hero for India on Day 5.<br /><br />The Man of the Match award and the Man of the Series award was given to Hashim Amla for making 490 runs in the series.<br /><br />Well, this series proves that the real winner is Test Cricket. Who can say after watching such an enthralling Test Series that Test Cricket is boring. What do you think?Cricket Maniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10595620582040267502noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678380898635980876.post-38687314346626953442010-01-28T10:17:00.001+05:302010-01-28T10:19:11.389+05:30India Wins Idea Cup<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3cwuCsD2USS0L_VvVDy6FZZ0CM9eXsNgu9ONwLJXP_4sIvDUkt1iEk8HZyyH2AzopvWHEYspQ_b4_vFK3d3j4diXg9zLt18nPbeL8qOA8AuDKajFFj1_DcHVq_vQFRawmB7uQJdYQd6CK/s1600-h/MS+Dhoni+receives+Idea+Cup.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 258px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3cwuCsD2USS0L_VvVDy6FZZ0CM9eXsNgu9ONwLJXP_4sIvDUkt1iEk8HZyyH2AzopvWHEYspQ_b4_vFK3d3j4diXg9zLt18nPbeL8qOA8AuDKajFFj1_DcHVq_vQFRawmB7uQJdYQd6CK/s320/MS+Dhoni+receives+Idea+Cup.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431648186063628002" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Zaheer Khan took 6 wickets in the second innings of Bangladesh to complete the Indian whitewash over Bangladesh. Tamim Iqbal scored a brilliant century on the third day evening and shared a century stand with Junaid Siddiqui. This was the fastest century by any Bangladeshi batsmen, surpassing the century of wicketkeeper batsman Mushfiqur Rahim in the first test of this series. India took the remaining wickets and completed the formality. Bangladesh though managed to avoid the innings defeat and took a lead of 1 run. Night-watchman Shahadat Hossain made 40 runs to avoid the innings defeat.<br /><br />India defeated Bangladesh in the first Test match and completed the whitewash by defeating them in the second innings. Zaheer Khan took 6 wickets in the innings and was declared as the 'Man of the Match' and 'Man of the Series'. The worst part of the series for India was injury to S Sreesanth, VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj Singh. Dravid and Yuvraj will miss the series against South Africa.Cricket Maniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10595620582040267502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678380898635980876.post-1247038580883265822010-01-28T10:16:00.001+05:302010-01-28T10:17:36.216+05:30Afridi Ready to Play in IPL<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4t7g2-y1jYhqbsiu8ODez8e2hryfXisJY-AAL8UeFKJPQtQbrS7m0hVrtRLJvx0zqa7_fb-zzcLgO7T3ZXqmF7BpPwc173vjFdxXVouS4k6_vRzzN-dSSVxAME4wnC8SVjHZK3NMLN9ib/s1600-h/Shahid+Afridi.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 310px; height: 228px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4t7g2-y1jYhqbsiu8ODez8e2hryfXisJY-AAL8UeFKJPQtQbrS7m0hVrtRLJvx0zqa7_fb-zzcLgO7T3ZXqmF7BpPwc173vjFdxXVouS4k6_vRzzN-dSSVxAME4wnC8SVjHZK3NMLN9ib/s320/Shahid+Afridi.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431647782542962818" /></a><br />Shahid Afridi is still ready to play in IPL season 3, as he is ready to participate even after not being picked up by any franchisee in the auctions. Sohail Tanveer also joined Afridi and said that he does not have 'anything personal' against India and is ready to participate in the IPL and Champions League. Afridi, who played for Deccan Chargers in the first season of IPL, earlier said that it is an 'insult' for Pakistan Cricket, players and the country, as none of the Pakistani cricketers was picked in the IPL auction.<br /><br />Meanwhile, IPL boss Lalit Modi said to a television news channel that there is still a 'window of possibility' for Pakistani players to participate in the IPL, as there are still some franchisees, who do not have full quota of players in their side. These franchisees can shun some players and picked Pakistani players, if they liked so. 2 days back, Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram also said that there are no indications from the government on picking or dropping Pakistani players and it is a 'disservice of cricket'. After this statement of Modi, it is likely to be taken an indication for the franchisees to pick at least top Pakistani players like Afridi, Tanveer, Abdul Razzaq and Umar Gul.Cricket Maniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10595620582040267502noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678380898635980876.post-76018347058478194152010-01-28T10:10:00.003+05:302010-01-28T10:29:14.653+05:30Pakistan Loses Third ODI<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje6O9y_618KL6TmyeR6c_w2d2oKht792yNrCwV5t6O9Fv4Ps5vgoYkatBE_ZaU_nyCLBqDqVU_KhDNAXKvcybvTxERfW2Ptk5zHcI7oMHzkAtN9uMGXE87UarEWJofgA111rX2-_A52vjM/s1600-h/Shaun+Marsh.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 242px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje6O9y_618KL6TmyeR6c_w2d2oKht792yNrCwV5t6O9Fv4Ps5vgoYkatBE_ZaU_nyCLBqDqVU_KhDNAXKvcybvTxERfW2Ptk5zHcI7oMHzkAtN9uMGXE87UarEWJofgA111rX2-_A52vjM/s320/Shaun+Marsh.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431647514283699858" border="0" /></a>
<br /><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CADMINI%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="country-region"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype></span><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Verdana; panose-1:2 11 6 4 3 5 4 4 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:536871559 0 0 0 415 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;"><st1:country-region st="on"><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Pakistan</span></st1:country-region></span><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" > lost the third ODI to <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Australia</st1:place></st1:country-region> by 40 runs in Adelaide Oval. With this victory, <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Australia</st1:place></st1:country-region> won yet another ODI series win, as the hosts win the first two ODIs comfortably. Also, <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Pakistan</st1:place></st1:country-region> was defeated in all the Test matches by the mighty Australians.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" >
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" >Australians, after batting first, put a decent total of 286 on the board, thanks mainly to a patient 83 by Shaun Marsh off 113 balls and a brilliant inning of 80 by Michael Clarke and a late onslaught by Michael Hussey. These two added 80 runs off just 33 balls.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <span style="font-size:85%;"><st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on"><span style="font-family:Verdana;">
<br />Pakistan</span></st1:country-region></st1:place></span><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" > was soon reduced to 60/4, before Umar Akmal and Fawad Alam and then Shahid Afridi and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan scored briskly, but could not avoid defeat. For <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Australia</st1:country-region></st1:place>, Ryan Harris took 5-43 and Mckay took 3.</span>Cricket Maniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10595620582040267502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678380898635980876.post-54334702241798566752010-01-28T10:09:00.000+05:302010-01-28T10:10:25.825+05:30I am back<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CADMINI%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Verdana; panose-1:2 11 6 4 3 5 4 4 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:536871559 0 0 0 415 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" >Hey folks! I am back. I met a very bad accident (though accidents are bad only) on 18<sup>th</sup> Dec 2009 and after nearly 1 and half months, I am returning to office. I hope you missed me during this time. My right leg got fractured, but now it is fine. Though, there is a slight stiffness, but it will be fine.</span>Cricket Maniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10595620582040267502noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678380898635980876.post-66117074455897665912009-12-18T18:23:00.001+05:302009-12-18T18:24:49.188+05:30Dhoni Powers India to 301<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRM7VMTMtbQ6pe3MkLHXFAjDgLN12JFFHEJSXNx61Nm-jQJwpt7dLDbrjkPkMqI5pHXSaQ4yoYp4mFr4AO8XimSxB4GSney0WoKl50yewXKexRhwP9lD4iGE-h9ciOOrg6gNvS7lMhJuDI/s1600-h/MS+Dhoni.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 282px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRM7VMTMtbQ6pe3MkLHXFAjDgLN12JFFHEJSXNx61Nm-jQJwpt7dLDbrjkPkMqI5pHXSaQ4yoYp4mFr4AO8XimSxB4GSney0WoKl50yewXKexRhwP9lD4iGE-h9ciOOrg6gNvS7lMhJuDI/s320/MS+Dhoni.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416558851038918786" /></a><br /><p class="news-body"> After MS Dhoni had elected to bat first, Kumar Sangakkara said that on a track that looked full of runs, he'd be happy with a target of 260. At 125 for 3 after 25 overs, he had reason to feel satisfied. In the initial stages the ball did a bit, but nowhere near enough to cause concern, and India's first three wickets owed to lapses in concentration. The Sri Lankans adopted a tidier line from Rajkot and were vastly improved in the field. As the procession of brighter lights happened around him Virat Kohli got on top of the bowlers and carried the innings with his third fifty, and first in India. </p> <p class="news-body"> When Virender Sehwag cracked the first ball of the game past point for four, visions of another run fest flickered. When he nicked a flashy cut three balls later, the healthy Nagpur crowd was silenced, and thus began an eight-over period of tidy seam bowling and mistimed shots. Angelo Mathews who took the new ball with Chanaka Welegedara bowled the first maiden of the limited-overs leg of the tour, and 11 dot balls in a row left viewers scratching their eyeballs. </p> <p class="news-body"> But it was not a mirage, and Sri Lanka's fielders backed their tidy new-ball pair. Tendulkar was nearly run out when on seven but Mathews missed the stumps and allowed five runs. Moments later an unfortunate incident did for Gautam Gambhir, who collided with Welegedara and was caught short by a direct hit from mid-on. </p> <p class="news-body"> A brief little contest ensued, Welegedara beating the bat repeatedly and occasionally even staring down Tendulkar. It wasn't express pace or even genuine movement, but Welegedara had an effect on Tendulkar, allowing him just 13 runs from 21 deliveries. Even when his horizontal, through-the-line shots weren't timed to perfection, the intent was evident from Tendulkar. To counter Welegedara's angle, Tendulkar hopped about his crease and looked to work the ball away to the on-side spaces. The tussle went Tendulkar's way in the ninth over when he collected two back-foot boundaries. </p> <p class="news-body"> Kohli, coming in at No. 4, played with a calmness he has often struggled to find in his brief one-day career. He started the day with and immaculate flicks off the pads for four, and it was evident that he was in the mood for a long stay. He opened up with some pretty strokes, the best of which was a wristy straight drive off debutant Suranga Lakmal. He found the boundaries when the field was in, especially pleasing when driving off the front foot, and then settled down to nurdle the ones and occasional two effortlessly. </p> <p class="news-body">By now Tendulkar appeared to have got a measure of the track and settled for a combination of timing and placement, but the partnership ended in rather tame fashion. Looking to go over mid-off, Tendulkar danced down the track but was beaten in the air by an Ajantha Mendis googly to be stumped (81 for 3). </p> <p class="news-body"> MS Dhoni edged his first ball for four and was nearly taken by a diving Welegedara at third man on 11, but settled down to help Kohli put on 44. Kohli was especially good against Lakmal, driving down the ground and pulling whenever he erred in length. At least one boundary came in each of Lakmal's first five overs, and he ended up with none for 43 from six. </p>Cricket Maniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10595620582040267502noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678380898635980876.post-8266536622551174532009-12-10T09:51:00.001+05:302009-12-10T09:54:17.733+05:30India loses first T20<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJG3FPSFG9ORIODKcGgCBN_931Nzq8zAIrzmWUFiQhlFrQaDVcYEH0q8lz0hz689uzgIwoQ52dFRn5w2MwgK2-JnoqAnz4e9IeE8iK69DIQO36f_UIaRdlrklaFGxe51d4bOMV-3FW8Shy/s1600-h/Kumar+Sangakkara.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 281px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJG3FPSFG9ORIODKcGgCBN_931Nzq8zAIrzmWUFiQhlFrQaDVcYEH0q8lz0hz689uzgIwoQ52dFRn5w2MwgK2-JnoqAnz4e9IeE8iK69DIQO36f_UIaRdlrklaFGxe51d4bOMV-3FW8Shy/s320/Kumar+Sangakkara.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5413458598682787634" border="0" /></a><br />India loses the first T20 against Sri Lanka here in Nagpur by 29 runs, despite a brilliant 55 off just 26 balls by Indian opener Gautam Gambhir. Sri Lankan skipper Kumar Sangakkara played a splendid knock of 78 runs in just 37 balls to take Sri Lanka to a mighty 215-5 in their allotted 20 overs.<br /><br />Having won the toss, Dhoni decided to bowl first, keeping in mind the dew factor, which could have played a huge role in the latter part of the game. Sri Lanka were off to a flying start, as the veteran Sanath Jayasuriya and Tilakaratne Dilshan started off brilliantly. Though Jayasuriya gave the debutant Ashok Dinda, his first international T20 wicket, he took Sri Lanka to a flyer. From there, Lankan skipper Kumar Sangakkara took over and started making the mockery of the Indian bowling attack. He was superb with the bat and scored 78 runs off just 37 balls with 11 fours and two sixes. He got able support from the other end in the form of Dilshan(34), Chamara Kapugedera(47) and Angelo Matthews(15 not out). The Indians on the other hand were sloppy in the fielding, as the newly appointed fielding consultant Mike Young was a mere spectator of the sloppy Indian fielders in the middle.<br /><br />For India, debutants Ashish Nehra and Ashok Dinda took a wicket each. Also, Yousuf Pathan and Rohit Sharma shared a wicket apiece. Ishant Sharma, though didn’t took a wicket, but he was the most impressive Indian bowler as he gave only 22 from his 4 overs. Nehra was the most expensive who gave away 52 runs in his 4 overs.<br /><br />In reply, Indian were too off to a flyer as Virender Sehwag continued his form of Test Cricket into T20 and started off in his typical style. He scored a quickfire 26 runs. Gautam Gambhir – the most consistent Indian batsmen in all the levels of cricket for India, took the toll on the Sri Lankan bowlers, especially Lasith Malinga and posted a pacy 50 off just 19 balls. He however, failed to stretch his innings and is bowled around his legs by Angelo Matthews, when he was on 55. The Indian middle order failed dramatically after the departure of the openers and Dhoni(9), Yuvraj(6), Rohit Sharma(3) and Yousuf Pathan(0) could only manage 18 runs among themselves. Only Suresh Raina tried to defy the Lankan attack with 21. The defeat could have been more shameful, if Ashish Nehra and Ashok Dinda wouldn’t have shared a useful partnership between themselves. Nehra scored 22 and Dinda scored 19.<br /><br />For Sri Lanka, Kulasekara, Dilshan and debutant Pushpakumara took a wicket apiece, but the pick of the bowlers for Sri Lanka was the veteran Sanath Jayasuriya, who took 2 wickets for just 19 runs in his quota of 4 overs.<br /><br />Gautam Gambhir became the first batsmen to complete 6 half centuries in T20 internationals. There were four debutants (two from each side) in the game. For India, Ashish Nehra and Ashok Dinda made their debuts and For Sri Lanka, Chinthaka Jayasinghe and Muthumudalige made their debuts in T20.Cricket Maniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10595620582040267502noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678380898635980876.post-14347769348140539052009-12-04T10:43:00.003+05:302009-12-04T10:46:53.043+05:30Pakistan Tottering in First Innings<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpE-o060u5bW_YQvYnB3BGnbT-kGEKj3WEfZEEu3qdl6AD3HWINT3Wk8ULXILMyV5PAn9h33JMxt2WdooKgohju7b6dGaHVLosQdEdW2EmqyGYA0c2bq1QFrR3Fs_u4XdAXvzglVpsDJTR/s1600-h/Daniel+Vettori.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 236px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpE-o060u5bW_YQvYnB3BGnbT-kGEKj3WEfZEEu3qdl6AD3HWINT3Wk8ULXILMyV5PAn9h33JMxt2WdooKgohju7b6dGaHVLosQdEdW2EmqyGYA0c2bq1QFrR3Fs_u4XdAXvzglVpsDJTR/s320/Daniel+Vettori.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411244953880490130" border="0" /></a><br /><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="country-region"></o:smarttagtype><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Verdana; panose-1:2 11 6 4 3 5 4 4 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:536871559 0 0 0 415 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--><st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:10pt;" >Pakistan</span></st1:country-region></st1:place><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:10pt;" > was tottering at 165-6 in the first innings of the second Test. The first day of the second Test match was truncated due to rain and bad weather. Umar Akmal, though tried to play a match saving knock, but he was dismissed for 46. Daniel Vettori took 3 wickets and the pacers did excellent job, as all the major Pakistani batsmen fell cheaply. When the day’s play was called off, <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Pakistan</st1:place></st1:country-region> was in trouble, as they were reduced to 165 for the loss of 6 wickets. Kamran Akmal and Mohammad Aamer were at the crease, when the play was called off.</span>Cricket Maniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10595620582040267502noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678380898635980876.post-14837329788928828462009-12-04T10:33:00.001+05:302009-12-04T10:38:26.219+05:30Sehwag Mauls Sri Lanka<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQBLywsm6_tmufuDlsaQ2dqcUHykeYjaxh_PUtb9NH-z3_cC_zqWX8-AL_r7LMQxJHya0-_yXw0GTWruc_rGgRNQupL8ud-VW_QveZ5NRrT4ZkHXcEcuYNchMOxNmcXD73kP4TqAKlCvV-/s1600-h/Virender+Sehwag.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 251px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQBLywsm6_tmufuDlsaQ2dqcUHykeYjaxh_PUtb9NH-z3_cC_zqWX8-AL_r7LMQxJHya0-_yXw0GTWruc_rGgRNQupL8ud-VW_QveZ5NRrT4ZkHXcEcuYNchMOxNmcXD73kP4TqAKlCvV-/s320/Virender+Sehwag.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411243456703124450" border="0" /></a><br />Virender Sehwag hit the second fastest double century to send Sri Lanka into complete disarray, as India take a lead of 50 runs in the third Test match against Sri Lanka here in Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai.<br /><br />Earlier, in the morning Sri Lanka resumed their first innings and was all out for 393. Young all rounder Angelo Matthews missed what could have been his first hundred in Test Cricket. He was run out when he was on 99, thanks to a brilliant throw from Sachin Tendulkar. Harbhajan Singh finished with 4 wickets; Pragyan Ojha took 3, whereas pacers Zaheer Khan and S Sreesanth took a wicket each.<br /><br />India began their innings in style; thanks to a brilliant innings from Virender Sehwag and replacement opener Murli Vijay. The usual roles get reversed, as Vijay started to hammer the Sri Lankan pacers, whereas Sehwag started off cautiously. Soon Sehwag came out of his skin and started to dominate the bowlers with cuts, pulls, drives, hooks, inside-out shots and every other shot mentioned in the book. Vijay was also elegant with his timing and the shots he played were simply exquisite. Vijay got out when he was trying to play a sweep shot against Rangana Herath. He made 87 off 122 balls with XX and 1 six off Muttiah Muralitharan. Rahul Dravid then joined Sehwag. But the dismissal of Vijay didn’t seem to disturb Sehwag, as he continued to play shots all over the park. Soon he completed his hundred and rose to 150 in no time. Rahul Dravid continued to play good shots as well and never seem to give a chance to the Lankans. Sehwag then completed his 6th double century. He became the 1st Indian to hit 6 double centuries. As soon as his double hundred came, he became crazy and started to play amazing shots. There was no respite for any Sri Lankan bowler. It can be seen from the economy rate of all the bowlers; the lowest being 4.56 of Welegedara. The Indian run rate was 5.61 at the end of the day’s play. Be it Muralitharan, or Herath, Matthews, Welegedara or ODIs best bowler Nuwan Kulasekara; there was no respite for any bowler.<br /><br />India finished the day at 443-1 off just 79 overs. It would be very interesting to see, whether or not Virender Sehwag would be able to complete his third triple hundred or not. If he does so, he would not only be the first Indian in the world to do so, but the first batsmen in the world as well.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Records that were either broken or are on the verge of it</span>:<br /><br />• Sehwag’s 200 off just 168 balls is the second fastest double century in Test Cricket, behind New Zealander Nathan Astle off 153 balls.<br />• Sehwag is the first Indian to register six double centuries, outstripping Rahul Dravid’s five. Only Sir Don Bradman (12), Brian Lara (9) and Wally Hammond (7) have more.<br />• 284 is the 3rd most runs scored in a single day, behind Bradman’s 309 in 1930 and Wally Hammond’s 295 in 1933.<br />• First Indian to post four 250-plus innings. Only Sir Don Bradman (5) has more.<br />• Sehwag has made 200 runs in a day thrice. No other Indian has done it even once.<br />• Reached 6,000 runs from 123 innings, the 3rd fastest Indian after Sunil Gavaskar (117) and Sachin Tendulkar (120)<br />• Sehwag has a strike rate of 80.48, the best among the batsmen with over 6,000 Test runs. Viv Richards has the next best strike rate of 69.28<br />• India’s 443-1 is the most they’ve ever got in a single Test-day. Add Lanka’s 27 and an amazing 470 runs were scored on Thursday.Cricket Maniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10595620582040267502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678380898635980876.post-89208423599756230602009-12-01T09:26:00.006+05:302009-12-01T09:33:28.573+05:30Shane Bond out of Test Series<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHAYhTd-NjloFTVamts1EkUa7g1R4j9oFKiRiSDzSETpVrv0MWWg8bYy8A4_fR0glfO0H_mVUIr8kHIqxXojfk5WvZc7Zok8RHgPzc-1NdCBEipGe4VQLIY4ReOQ1lGrWmex8zOlAw2bXz/s1600/Shane+Bond.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 310px; height: 245px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHAYhTd-NjloFTVamts1EkUa7g1R4j9oFKiRiSDzSETpVrv0MWWg8bYy8A4_fR0glfO0H_mVUIr8kHIqxXojfk5WvZc7Zok8RHgPzc-1NdCBEipGe4VQLIY4ReOQ1lGrWmex8zOlAw2bXz/s320/Shane+Bond.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5410113468122703938" border="0" /></a><br />New Zealand fast bowler and Man of the Match in the first test against Pakistan, Shane Bond is ruled out of the ongoing Test series due to a torn abdominal muscle. Shane Bond took 8 wickets against Pakistan in the first test at Dunedin. Bond suffered minor abdominal discomfort following the first test & scans on Tuesday revealed a one-centimetre tear in an abdominal muscle.<br /><br />Kiwi team manager David Curry said that Bond will be 'rested' for the second and third test as a precaution. It is been said that he is expected to recover in time for New Zealand home series against Bangladesh early next year. Meanwhile, Kiwi selectors would be naming the replacement for Bond by Wednesday for the remaining Test Matches.Cricket Maniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10595620582040267502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678380898635980876.post-23700092804538663852009-11-27T15:29:00.002+05:302009-11-27T15:33:21.839+05:30India completes Thumping Victory<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXnXwcRJM8_17M2XDu6Ro1n97VyHNdVwzDX1d3FE19WbqjIUr-eXWTMLV4DCG5yhyI4rc_3sLUTY7dOjbjdjL6HDhdsD4UOReojv32WN800YerzDW-ekDd9Wim90aGoakHn2G4cTdmTl-d/s1600/S+Sreesanth.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 230px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXnXwcRJM8_17M2XDu6Ro1n97VyHNdVwzDX1d3FE19WbqjIUr-eXWTMLV4DCG5yhyI4rc_3sLUTY7dOjbjdjL6HDhdsD4UOReojv32WN800YerzDW-ekDd9Wim90aGoakHn2G4cTdmTl-d/s320/S+Sreesanth.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408721862918232802" border="0" /></a><br />India thrashed Sri Lanka by an innings and 144 runs in the second test here in Green Park Stadium, Kanpur. The first test in Ahmedabad’s Motera Stadium was a draw. As the debutant spinner Pragyan Ojha took the last wicket, Indian players, team management, crowd present in the stadium and millions following the match went wild.<br /><br />India batted first and openers Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag and Rahul Dravid scored hundreds and good scores by Yuvraj Singh, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman enable India to reach a mammoth total of 642. In reply, Sri Lanka was bundled for a mere 229 in the first innings, thanks to a five wicket haul of the returning pacer S Sreesanth. Not even a single half century was scored by any of the Sri Lankan batsmen in the first innings. Indian spinners too supported Sreesanth well, as Harbhajan Singh took 2 wickets and debutant spinner Pragyan Ojha too chipped in with a couple of wickets.<br /><br />Sent for the follow-on, the story of first innings was repeated and Sri Lanka lost their first 4 wickets for just 54 at the end of third day’s play. India, having sense the victory, deliver the knockout punch on the fourth day as Harbhajan Singh took 3 wickets, Ojha took 2, Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan and Sreesanth took 1 wicket apiece to restrict Sri Lanka to just 269. Middle order Sri Lankan batsman Thilana Samaraweera tried very hard to delay the defeat, as he scored a patient 78 not out, but he ran short of batting partners.<br /><br />S Sreesanth was declared the Man of the Match for his second five wicket haul.<br /><br />Indian team now looks charged up and will be ready to take on Sri Lankans in Mumbai, in the third test starting from Dec 2.Cricket Maniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10595620582040267502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678380898635980876.post-38778723082324722652009-11-11T21:45:00.002+05:302009-11-11T21:48:15.575+05:30Indian Team Declared for Sri Lanka Series<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyzwvu3YfXWvmF-tgqHD0ESp2Cwa931EW5LS9gSOqAygwTrTT30nUHr2aasDPQIF9CK0hgAZCozHhlFTwRiUPRiuQkaQJISi5k2ZFpO1s6tBFQx44V8BWgQPSz8hmz3VxaBVMm4BEAoebi/s1600-h/Sreesanth.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 288px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyzwvu3YfXWvmF-tgqHD0ESp2Cwa931EW5LS9gSOqAygwTrTT30nUHr2aasDPQIF9CK0hgAZCozHhlFTwRiUPRiuQkaQJISi5k2ZFpO1s6tBFQx44V8BWgQPSz8hmz3VxaBVMm4BEAoebi/s320/Sreesanth.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402881110786822370" border="0" /></a><br />Indian Cricket Team has been declared for the Test Series against Sri Lanka. Injured pacer Zaheer Khan is back in the Indian squad for the three match series against Sri Lanka. Also, pacer S. Sreesanth is back in the Indian team. Sreesanth has been in out of the Indian team from a long time back.<br /><br />The team is as follows:<br /><br />Captain: Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Vice Captain: Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Ishant Sharma, Murali Vijay, Pragyan Ojha, Zaheer Khan, S. Sreesanth, S Badrinath, Amit Mishra.Cricket Maniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10595620582040267502noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678380898635980876.post-23341154496720213732009-11-10T09:37:00.002+05:302009-11-10T09:40:56.075+05:30New Zealand Wins Cool Cool Cup<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrtEJvNwP9bEC15dxjqwCUEahDjGoSLM5wQb8zhgpoqC13OAXx-VZplqLqmExT1nAJ1s6oO0TogLfYBMuGvwkMx794ExVIoFghjl3clhzZs0uvr1LiawY8syWYXdXU_N2xUD5Ef0U5lVA1/s1600-h/New+Zealand+wins+Cool+Cool+Cup.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 216px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrtEJvNwP9bEC15dxjqwCUEahDjGoSLM5wQb8zhgpoqC13OAXx-VZplqLqmExT1nAJ1s6oO0TogLfYBMuGvwkMx794ExVIoFghjl3clhzZs0uvr1LiawY8syWYXdXU_N2xUD5Ef0U5lVA1/s320/New+Zealand+wins+Cool+Cool+Cup.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402322605621118226" border="0" /></a><br />New Zealand defeated Pakistan by 7 runs in an exciting finish, which could have gone Pakistan’s way – thanks to one of the most outstanding innings played by young Pakistani fast bowler Mohammad Aamer, who finished unbeaten on 73 off just 81 balls, with 7 fours and 3 sixes, hit in 1 over of Daniel Vettori.<br /><br />Earlier, New Zealand managed to score just 211 runs, thanks to a brilliant bowling by Pakistani off spinner Saeed Azmal (4-33) and Mohammad Aamer (2-41). New Zealand opener and wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum scored an impressive 76. Rest of the batsmen can’t stand for long whole Kiwi team was sent by Pakistani bolwers.<br /><br />In reply, it was a one sided game from the starting, as Timothy Southee, Kylie Mills, Shane Bond and New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori limited the Pakistani batsmen and at one stage Pakistan were 101-9. It was looking a feeble batting effort from Pakistan, until young Mohammad Aamer, along with Saeed Azmal (30) took Pakistan to the doors of victory. In the process, Mohammad Aamer broke the record of Zimbabwean Doug Mariller, who scored 56* against India in Faridabad, way back in 2001, by scoring 73 not out.<br /><br />Mohammad Aamer was given the Man of the Match and Brendon McCullum the Man of the Series awards. Earlier, Pakistan won the first game and New Zealand, the second game of the Cool Cool Cup.Cricket Maniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10595620582040267502noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678380898635980876.post-76768132662681564732009-11-09T09:32:00.000+05:302009-11-10T09:36:43.404+05:30India loses the ODI Series<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ8g9g_IYf6hEvmED-0fr8yc3OKE-8yO3PO2hjCslstoAC2LJo5-jspNArK6boq1l8Eocftq9CQ4YK8O3fPzVJb9c_dnFov7s0YBrnuJnjVKOshYoxidy2K2O9Jt0V4LT_Q-uaEXUO85FU/s1600-h/Doug+Bollinger.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ8g9g_IYf6hEvmED-0fr8yc3OKE-8yO3PO2hjCslstoAC2LJo5-jspNArK6boq1l8Eocftq9CQ4YK8O3fPzVJb9c_dnFov7s0YBrnuJnjVKOshYoxidy2K2O9Jt0V4LT_Q-uaEXUO85FU/s320/Doug+Bollinger.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402321447731453602" border="0" /></a><br />India, after losing to Australia by 6 wickets at Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium, Guwahati, lost the ODI Series against Australia. Earlier, India also lost the Hyderabad One Day by just three runs chasing a massive target of 351 runs.<br /><br />Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and surprisingly chose to bat on a pitch that was looking green and also, the morning freshness of the wicket was bound to help the fast bowlers. Soon, it started to show it’s nature, when Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir got out when the score was 7. The centurion of the last game and only batsman to score more than 17,000 ODI runs – Sachin Tendulkar got out when the score was just 23. Soon, Yuvraj Singh got out in a strange fashion, when he dragged the ball to his own stumps, in an effort to get back to the crease. Soon followed Suresh Raina and India almost lost the game st this juncture, having been reduced to 27-5. Captain M S Dhoni and Ravinder Jadeja tried to settle the things, but they had to sacrifice the run rate for the same.<br /><br />Dhoni and Harbhajan Singh’s wicket pushed India further down. Then cam Praveen Kumar, who scored a record 85 runs for the 8th wicket with Ravinder Jadeja. Praveen Kumar went on to score a half century, but India were unable to play their full quota of overs and got out on the score of 170 in 48 overs. Left arm pacer Doug Bollinger took 5 wickets.<br /><br />In reply, Australia though lost the wicket of Shaun Marsh early, but after that patient innings of Shane Watson, Ricky Ponting, Cameron White and Michael Hussey played useful innings and took Australia to the victory target easily.Cricket Maniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10595620582040267502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678380898635980876.post-9382074900139395592009-10-29T09:53:00.002+05:302009-10-29T09:56:09.246+05:30Dhoni make India bounce back<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGA9s_9ufeJ1Ha1xbs4A6VYBeylfbWcnkq_vQt9owZq_jrDIX_iN00-NdmAWHuJ5d3xZUgFSKLecxwmj_p747vuza-VYa0pqVbc9WZDYXp2kWiw4pV1RyPgAlLkplbK4jjxR_eJWG1E6bT/s1600-h/M+S+Dhoni.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 282px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGA9s_9ufeJ1Ha1xbs4A6VYBeylfbWcnkq_vQt9owZq_jrDIX_iN00-NdmAWHuJ5d3xZUgFSKLecxwmj_p747vuza-VYa0pqVbc9WZDYXp2kWiw4pV1RyPgAlLkplbK4jjxR_eJWG1E6bT/s320/M+S+Dhoni.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397873499753076402" border="0" /></a><br />Mahendra Singh Dhoni, captain of India hit a brilliant century to win the game for his side. He hit a splendid 124 off 107 balls and had two excellent partnerships, first with Gautam Gambhir (76 off 80 balls, 6 fours) and then with Suresh Raina (62 off 50 balls, 6 fours 1 six).<br /><br />It was all started with Ricky Ponting won the toss and elected to bowl first. Virender Sehwag (40 runs off 31 balls, 6 fours 1 six) smashed Aussie bowlers all over the park, however Sachin Tendulkar missed out today, as he scored just 4. Sehwag then joined hands with Gautam Gambhir and they took the score to 67. Here, Sehwag gave a catch off the bowling of Mitchell Johnson. The returning Yuvraj Singh came and started hitting strokes all over the park. But his stint was short lived, as he scored run-a-ball 24 and was caught by Peter Siddle off his own bowling. Then came the ‘Captain Cool’. He started taking quick singles, hit the odd boundary and along with Gambhir, he took the score to 216. This partnership witnessed the fifties of Gambhir and Dhoni. Dhoni and Gambhir hit the Aussies to all corners of the ground. With a confusion between both of them, Gambhir’s innings ended with a direct hit. Gambhir made 76 runs off 80 balls, with 6 fours. Once Gambhir departed, Dhoni attacked the Aussie bowlers even more fiercely; his partner was Suresh Raina. Raina also supported his captain with some lusty blows. Both of them added 136 runs off 93 balls. Raina’s fifty came in just 42 balls. Dhoni completed yet another ODI hundred in style by hitting Shane Watson for a big six. He hit one more six on the very next balls. His century came off just 94 balls, as he finished on 124 runs off just 107 balls. India finished on 357-7 off their 50 overs. With Dhoni’s century, it was the first century by an Indian captain against Australia. Mitchell Johnson took 75-3.<br /><br />In reply, Australia started in a similar fashion and soon lost the wicket of Tim Paine, when he was dismissed off the bowling of Praveen Kumar. Shane Watson and captain Ricky Ponting took the innings from there, but were never able to cope with the rising run rate. Soon, Watson perished off the bowling of Ishant Sharma. Soon, Praveen Kumar dismissed Ricky Ponting and Australia slipped further down. Within a few overs, it was clear that Australia would not be winning this match. Indian spinners, especially Yuvraj Singh and Ravinder Jadeja bowled well and never allowed the Aussie batsmen took the upper hand. Michael Husey was the highest scorer for Australia, as he scored 53. Ravinder Jadeja took 3 wickets for 39 runs. Ashish Nehra took 2 wickets, so did Ishant Sharma.<br /><br />Indian Captain was the obvious choice for the Man of the Match award.<br /><br />With this victory, India level the series 1-1 and would be keen to win the third game and take 2-1 lead in the series.Cricket Maniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10595620582040267502noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678380898635980876.post-77229168562988884662009-10-26T10:10:00.006+05:302009-10-26T10:56:35.536+05:30Australia pins India by 4 runsHarbhajan Singh's and Praveen Kumar's heroics took India agonizingly close to an enthralling win before the hosts slumped to a <table class="cnt" style="margin-top: 3px; margin-right: 6px;" align="left" width="310"><tbody><tr><td id="bellyad" style="padding-left: 3px;"><div class="mainimg"><a href="javascript:openslideshownew('/slideshow/5160344.cms?imw=460','541','526')"><img src="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/thumb.cms?msid=5160344&width=300&resizemode=4" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" alt="Australia" title="Australia" ag="" border="0" vspace="0" /></a><div class="zoomimg"><a href="javascript:openslideshownew('/slideshow/5160344.cms?imw=460','541','526')"><img src="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/photo/4764554.cms" border="0" /></a></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table><table class="cnt" style="margin: 0pt 10px 0pt 0pt; clear: both;" align="left" width="200"></table> four run defeat against Australia in the first match of the seven One Day Internationals series on Sunday.<br /><br />At 201-7 in their chase of a 293-run victory target, India seemed heading for a comprehensive defeat before Praveen (40 not out) and Harbhajan (49) came up with a defiant 84-run stand off just 57 balls for the eighth wicket (an Indian record) that took them to the doors of victory.<br /><br />Earlier, Australia set up a victory target of 292 runs. Tim Paine, Michael Hussey and captain Ricky Ponting played splendidly to set up this huge score. Ashish Nehra took 2 Aussie wickets, whereas Ishant Sharma looked in good form after a long time and he ended up taking 3 Aussie wickets.<br /><br />For India, top order batsmen like Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag failed badly, however, Gautam Gambhir showed what a gutsy cricketer he is. He hanged on for 85 deliveries and scored an important half century. He scored 68 with 6 fours and 1 six. There were useful contributions from Virat Kohli and the skipper MS Dhoni, but with the wicket of Ravinder Jadeja, India were reduced to 201-7 in 40 overs. It looked like as if the match will have a one sided end. But Praveen Kumar and Harbhajan Singh have other plans. They played smart cricket and Bhajji showed his 'liking' for Aussie bowling once again with a brilliant innings of 49 runs off just 31 balls with 4 fours and 3 big sixes, whereas Praveen Kumar justified his batting talent and he remained unbeaten on 40 off just 32 balls with 5 fours and 1 six.<br /><br />If India would have won the game, the Man of the Match would certainly had been Harbhajan Singh, but with the Aussies winning it, Michael Hussey was adjudged the Man of the Match for his brilliant 74 off 54 balls with 8 fours and 1 six.<br /><br />What a series opener it was? I can't wait for the second match which is scheduled to held at Nagpur's Vidharbh Cricket Association ground on Wednesday, Oct 28.Cricket Maniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10595620582040267502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678380898635980876.post-13592415397084856722009-10-23T23:10:00.003+05:302009-10-23T23:13:47.292+05:30Lee stars in NSW's title triumph<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinP04JM-66kg4FMkeJ01E9CUmgJEdQaoyZXtTVT7E0PWEo3_a608qjeANtk1OH3MqGkNlKNiJIX0W1kCzemXwAQkbhbybjCnpBEQdFH52iqroql9sPwvojv6lJPUVft1gkatsBozCemohZ/s1600-h/Brett+Lee+New+South+Wales.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinP04JM-66kg4FMkeJ01E9CUmgJEdQaoyZXtTVT7E0PWEo3_a608qjeANtk1OH3MqGkNlKNiJIX0W1kCzemXwAQkbhbybjCnpBEQdFH52iqroql9sPwvojv6lJPUVft1gkatsBozCemohZ/s320/Brett+Lee+New+South+Wales.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395852532226940770" border="0" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;font-family:Tahoma,Geneva,Arial,'Arial Narrow',Verdana,sans-serif;font-size:12px;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 19px;font-family:Tahoma;font-size:13px;" ><p class="news-body" style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; padding: 0px; line-height: 19px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-weight: normal;">A compelling performance from Brett Lee, with bat and ball, spurred New South Wales to the Champions League Twenty20 title in the final against Trinidad & Tobago in Hyderabad. Lee scored 48 to lift NSW from 83 for 6 to a competitive 159. He then returned for a fiery spell with the new ball, taking 2 for 10 off two overs, before symbolically ending the T&T challenging by catching the fearsome Kieron Pollard on the boundary. NSW also had another, if less prominent, performer in young legspinner Steven Smith. He partnered Lee during a 49-run partnership, scoring 33, and picked up two crucial wickets with his legbreaks.</p><p class="news-body" style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; padding: 0px; line-height: 19px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-weight: normal;"><b>20 overs</b><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i><b>New South Wales</b><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>159 for 9 (Lee 48, Rampaul 3-20) v<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><b>Trinidad & Tobago</b></i><br /></p><p class="news-body" style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; padding: 0px; line-height: 19px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-weight: normal;">The question at the start of the battle for the biggest cash prize in a cricket tournament ever was that who will handle the pressure of the final better? Trinidad & Tobago came out on the top initially, reducing New South Wales to 83 for 6, but Brett Lee played a superb hand to propel NSW to a competitive 159 in Hyderabad.</p><p class="news-body" style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; padding: 0px; line-height: 19px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-weight: normal;">Lee is a clean hitter but his innings wasn't a blind counterattack in the traditional sense of the word. He started slowly, reaching 7 off 13 deliveries, before he broke free in the 16th over against Lendl Simmons. The first delivery, a full toss, was swung over square-leg for a six, the fourth delivery was a clean hit over long-on, and the last one was carved to the cover boundary. Time and again, Lee cleared the front leg and swung cleanly through the line. Navin Stewart disappeared over long-on and Sherwin Ganga was heaved over midwicket as Lee powered NSW to a good total. Lee got support from Steven Smith, who did what was required perfectly: give the strike to Lee, and try to pinch the occasional boundary to soak up the pressure.</p><p class="news-body" style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; padding: 0px; line-height: 19px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-weight: normal;">Until Lee delivered his counter punch, though, it was T&T all the way. Simon Katich wanted to bat and Daren Ganga wanted to bowl and both teams got what they wanted out of the toss. The question then was, considering T&T's ability to chase down big scores, would the pressure to set up a daunting target tell on NSW? The answer played out during the next twenty overs.</p><p class="news-body" style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; padding: 0px; line-height: 19px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-weight: normal;">If NSW were to get to a huge total, the two hard-hitting openers had to contribute heavily but that didn't happen. T&T started with the spin-seam combination and Sherwin Ganga, the offspinner, bowled three overs in the Powerplay. The third ball of the game perhaps indicated which team was suffering more from the yips. Warner opted to play a weak reverse sweep and nearly edged it back to the bowler. Warner did go on to thread a couple of boundaries on the off side but never looked in. Meanwhile the pressure told on his partner Phillip Hughes, who faced three balls in the first three overs, and fell, trying to slog-pull the impressive Ravi Rampaul.</p><p class="news-body" style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; padding: 0px; line-height: 19px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-weight: normal;">While Sherwin Ganga was miserly, it was Rampaul who really shone with a fine display of canny seam bowling. He hit a full length, got the ball to cut both ways and built pressure. One moment captured his combative spirit perfectly: When Warner tried to impose himself with a crashing cover-drive, Rampaul fired in a sharp 140 kmph bouncer that flew past the startled batsman.</p><p class="news-body" style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; padding: 0px; line-height: 19px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-weight: normal;">The chance for NSW to break free came in the fifth over bowled by Dwayne Bravo, who had leaked runs in the semi-final. Katich started off with a bottom-hand powered six over long-on but Warner fell in the same over, edging one to right of backward point where Dave Mohammed took a fine catch.</p><p class="news-body" style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; padding: 0px; line-height: 19px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-weight: normal;">What followed was a nervy phase for NSW as one batsman after another fell to soft dismissals. Katich punched Bravo straight to mid-off, Moises Henriques swung a short delivery to fine-leg, Ben Rohrer pulled a long hop straight to deep midwicket, and Daniel Smith chopped a length delivery back on to his stumps. But Lee and Smith saved the day with some sensible batting and pushed NSW to a competitive score.</p></span></span>Cricket Maniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10595620582040267502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678380898635980876.post-5442867464249496692009-10-23T09:51:00.004+05:302009-10-23T10:12:27.651+05:30Trinidad and Tobago enters finals<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq2cXuYL7MgYUxah6TxL9fiTC05TdfZU7Ems2sYdBQ3FvZbw0XPolNMlcrbmF18jEJ1aS_j5XzrALVoK1oSX-er03fEUfLJlsL-ZPl0yncbMREEVvzCYYy5ytOHZaFCJM5kGtVkea0z-fw/s1600-h/Trinidad+and+Tobago.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 207px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq2cXuYL7MgYUxah6TxL9fiTC05TdfZU7Ems2sYdBQ3FvZbw0XPolNMlcrbmF18jEJ1aS_j5XzrALVoK1oSX-er03fEUfLJlsL-ZPl0yncbMREEVvzCYYy5ytOHZaFCJM5kGtVkea0z-fw/s320/Trinidad+and+Tobago.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395651188546415874" border="0" /></a><br />Trinidad and Tobago defeated South Africa's Cape Cobras by 7 wickets to enter the finals of Airtel Champions League T20. With this victory, Trinidad and Tobago have acquired the license to meet Australia's New South Wales in the finals.<br /><br />Earlier, Puttick of Cape Cobras won the toss and elected to bat first. Herschelle Gibbs started the innings in an explosive manner - as he went on to score 42 off just 27 balls with 5 fours and 1 six. After Gibbs' departure, J P Duminy took charge for Cobras in his typical fashion and scored a blistering 61 off just 40 balls with 4 fours and 3 huge sixes. Cobras eventually finished their innings on 175. They could have scored more, if Ravi Rampaul haven't bowl that super last over, where he conceded just 2 runs. For T&T, Lendl Simmons took 2-17.<br /><br />In reply, every batsman of Trinidad and Tobago got good starts; be it Perkins, Barath or Simmons. But the real blow came from Darren Ganga and Dwayne Bravo, who took Trinidad and Tobago with lusty blows. They managed to took Trinidad and Tobago from a feeble position to victory. Barath scored 29 off 16 with 4 fours and 2 sixes, Perkins scored 20 off 16 with 4 fours. The real heroes Ganga and Bravo scored heavily, as Ganga finished on an unbeaten 44 off 31 deliveries with just 1 four and 2 sixes, whereas Bravo was more severe on Cape Cobras' bowlers, as he scored an unbeaten 58 off just 34 balls with 4 fours and 3 huge sixes. Justin Ontong and J P Duminy took 1 wicket each.<br /><br />Undoubtedly, Bravo was declared the Man of the Match.<br /><br />Now, we have a great finals between tournament's top 2 teams. This clash is really a justified one as both the teams have been simply outstanding in the entire Airtel Champions League. If I talk about my favourites, it had to be Trinidad and Tobago.Cricket Maniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10595620582040267502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678380898635980876.post-51846055567242658792009-10-22T11:01:00.003+05:302009-10-22T11:18:39.005+05:30NSW enters into the finals of Champions League<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpypcQ91Q-L9b0hG_iKHk0t8Z4myL19E7ECsE1KeWrgbMmV2DVAAo3K507IKUrcQFRCsAgAQ_62rlk1ERWE6EksXAmGY66gtpsJIUI6hFRAWjEHW3rpbjUdLd4nLSbIfYKCOWAfiUAgHPZ/s1600-h/David+Warner.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 247px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpypcQ91Q-L9b0hG_iKHk0t8Z4myL19E7ECsE1KeWrgbMmV2DVAAo3K507IKUrcQFRCsAgAQ_62rlk1ERWE6EksXAmGY66gtpsJIUI6hFRAWjEHW3rpbjUdLd4nLSbIfYKCOWAfiUAgHPZ/s320/David+Warner.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395297162102958850" border="0" /></a><br />NSW crushed another Australian team Victoria Bushrangers by 79 runs to enter the finals of Airtel Champions League T20. They will meet the winners of the match between Cape Cobras and Trinidad and Tobago.<br /><br />NSW's Captain Simon Katich won the toss and elected to bat first. The top order of New South Wales proved his decision was right, as David Warner thrashed the Bushrangers' bowlers all over the park and scored 48 runs off just 25 balls with 7 fours and 2 huge sixes. Along with Phil Hughes, Warner added 62 runs for the first wicket in just 6.5 overs. Even after Warner's dismissal, NSW batsmen added quick runs and ensured that NSW get close to 170. For New South Wales, the main scorers apart from David Warner were Phil Hughes (35 runs 28 balls 4 fours 1 six), D Smith (20 runs 19 balls 3 fours), captain Simon Katich (26 runs 18 balls 2 fours 1 six) and B Rohrer (19 runs 11 balls 2 fours). NSW ended their innings at 169-7 in 20 overs.<br /><br />In reply, Victoria Bushrangers started off disastrously, as both their openers, Rob Quiney and Brad Hodge got out for 0. Soon, they were reduced to 6-3, as off spinner Nathan Hauritz (who opened the bowling with Brett Lee) dismissed the openers and A Blizzard was dismissed by Brett Lee. The fate of the match was already decided after the fall of these three wickets. Victoria Bushrangers managed to score just 90 off their 20 overs. For New South Wales, Brett Lee and Nathan Hauritz took 2 wickets each, but the leading wicket taker was Moises Henriques, who took 3 for just 11 runs off his 3 wickets. Wade was the highest scorer for Bushrangers, as he scored 23 off 29 balls.<br /><br />David Warner was adjudged Man of the Match for his splendid batting.Cricket Maniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10595620582040267502noreply@blogger.com0