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Pathan brothers lead team to Victory
Feb 11th
Colombo: On Tuesday India accomplished a successful tour with a breathtaking three-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the only Twenty20 international.
Set target of 172 for win in 20 overs, India overcame a mid-innings fail to secure a spectacular win thanks to a dazzling eighth-wicket stand among brothers Yusuf and Irfan Pathan.
India slumped to 115 for seven after leg-spinner Malinga Bandara claimed 3 for 32, but the two Pathans rescued India with an steady 59-run stand in just 25 balls.
Irfan Pathan cracked an unbeaten 33 from 16 deliveries with two sixes and Yusuf stroked 22 not out off just 10 balls with the aid of two sixes and a four.
India, who also won the one-day series 4-1, clinched success with four balls to spare with Irfan swinging a massive six over mid-wicket.
Sri Lanka’s stand-in captain Tillakaratne Dilshan had previously top-scored for the hosts with 61 from 47 balls, an innings that incorporated seven fours and one six.
Dilshan was provided early support by fellow opener Sanath Jayasuriya, who smashed 33 from just 17 balls with two sixes, helping add 59 for the first wicket in 5.5 overs.
Off-spinner Yusuf Pathan was India’s best bowler, taking two for 23 from four economical overs in the middle of the innings.
India started their run chase poorly, slumping to 14 for two, but Yuvraj Singh (32) and Suresh Raina (35) regained the initiative with a 67-run stand.
Part-time off spinner Jehan Mubarak dragged Sri Lanka back into the game by showing Yuvraj pavilion.
Sri Lanka looked to be heading for victory as Jayasuriya bowled a miserable spell, taking 1 for 10 from three overs, as India crashed from 81 for 2 to 115 for 7.
Nevertheless, the Pathan brothers ended the match with a exciting partnership.
India replaces Australia, becomes ICC’s No 2 ODI team
Feb 7th
Dubai: India displaced Australia as the No 2 team in ICC’s ODI rankings after New Zealand defeated the world champions by six wickets in the second ODI in Melbourne.
India, who have made steady upward progress after winning nine consecutive ODIs, now has 122 rating points to be just three points behind top rankers South Africa. The Proteas recently climbed to the top of the table at Australia’s expense.
Australia (121) has been pushed to the third place while New Zealand follows on fourth rung with 117 points. Pakistan is further down the ladder at fifth while England and Sri Lanka are sixth and seventh respectively.
Australia, who have been on the decline in the last few months, have just about managed to retain their place as the number one team in the longer version of the game despite losing the Test series at home to South Africa.
South Africa and India are now the top challengers to Ricky Ponting’s team in both the versions. In ICC Test Rankings, Australia have 126 points while second placed South Africa is 121 and would get a chance to topple Australia when they take on Ponting’s men in a home series beginning later this month. India are third placed with 118 points.
The number one ODI team on April 1 will be richer by USD 175,000 with the runners-up getting USD 75,000.
With help of Yuvi & Viru, India bagged the series
Feb 4th
Colombo: On Tuesday Yuvraj Singh and Virender Sehwag scored centuries as a ruthless India won the five-match cricket series against Sri Lanka by beating the hosts by 147 runs in the third ODI in Colombo.
Electing to bat first, India rode on a 221-run stand for the third wicket involving Sehwag (116) and Yuvraj (117) to build up 363 for five, their highest score in Sri Lanka.
Chasing the huge total, Sri Lanka folded for 216 in 41.4 overs, in spite of Kumar Sangakkara’s rebellious 83 off 82 balls. Left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha did the utmost damage to Sri Lanka, claiming 4 for 38.
India thus took an incontrovertible 3-0 lead in the series and both the teams will square off again here on Thursday for the fourth match.
The capacity crowd at the R Premadasa Stadium found the only solace when off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan impassive Yuvraj to equal Wasim Akram’s world record tally of 502 ODI wickets.
This was India’s highest total on Sri Lankan soil, leave back the previous best of 307 for 6 in 1998 at the same venue.
Chasing such a huge total, Sri Lanka badly needed a big knock from Sanath Jayasuriya but the veteran opener let the side down today.
He came dancing down the track to hit Praveen out of the park only to find Sehwag at mid-off.
Sehwag then bowled out Thilina Kandamby (10) and, in the next over, Pragyan Ojha cleaned up Chamara Kapugedera (2) to tighten the noose around the hosts.
Sangakkara did try his best but by then, it was too late and the Lankan tail merely didn’t had it in them to achieve such a staggering task.
Earlier, Sehwag and Yuvraj set the stadium on fire with some sparkling stroke-play as the duo stitched a record 221 runs for the third wicket.
Yusuf Pathan (59 not out) and Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (35 not out) were the other prominent contributors for the visitors.
The twin centuries also broke a curse as no Indian batsman had hit a ODI century on Sri Lankan soil in the last 10 years.
Yuvraj’s 95-ball 117 contained as many as 17 boundaries and a six while Sehwag was equally ruthless in his 90-ball 116 which was studded with 17 boundaries.
The Punjab southpaw was adjudged man of the match.
Yusuf Pathan and Dhoni then provided the late sparks to the innings by using the long handle to overwhelming effect in the slog overs.
Sehwag and Yuvraj maintained a brisk scoring rate of over seven runs per over right through their partnership.
The Sri Lankan bowlers looked completely clueless against the rampaging duo. While the pacemen strayed down the leg side and bled runs, the two spinners — Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis — also failed to contain the run flow.
To make it worse for them, Jayasuriya missed Sehwag when the batsman was 73 and the slip proved expensive.
Yuvraj’s belligerence finally came to an end when he was caught by Jayawardene off Muralitharan. Sehwag soon joined him in the pavilion being run out off a direct hit from Jayasuriya.
But with Pathan and Dhoni milking runs at will, there was no break for the hosts.
India won by 15 runs, 2-0 lead in series
Feb 1st
Colombo: ‘Win the toss, win the match’ has been said by most winning teams in day-nighters here at R. Premadasa Stadium and India on Saturday was same. With the sea breeze blowing across the ground and with the aid of a slow pitch acting up under lights, India’s bowlers set up a15-run win over the hosts in the second of the five-match ODI series.
Middle-order batsman Thilina Kandamby (93 n.o., 129b) tried hard to put up a fight, playing the anchor’s role as he stitched together a 100-run stand for the third wicket with captain Mahela Jayawardena and then later opened up to help his side inch close to India’s 256/9.
But the target eventually proved too steep to mount and with Lanka needing 20 off the last eight balls, Kandamby could not find deal the killer punch. Lanka were all out for 241 with 3 balls to spare.
Ishant Sharma scalped 4/57, Zaheer Khan and Praveen Kumar — who replaced the injured Munaf Patel — took one each as the trio got the ball to zip around, creating a ridicule of the already stressed Lankan batting line-up.
India had been powered by one more intensive batting attempt led by Yuvraj Singh’s 66 (88 b, 7×4) and Virender Sehwag’s 46 (28b), and though the win gave them a 2-0 lead in the series, they looked a far cry from the team that had walloped Lanka in the first ODI. While one reason was the restricted fare dished out Muttiah Muralitharan and Farveez Mahroof in the middle overs and mistaken stroke play by some Indian batsmen, controversial umpiring decisions didn’t help either.
Master blaster Sachin Tendulkar (6, 9b) was adjudged plumb in front to a delivery that was drifting down the leg-side, Yuvraj was given out lbw in spite of edging the ball and early into the Lankan innings and Tillakartne Dilshan seemed to have got a feather to a Zaheer out-swinger enroute to Tendulkar at second slip. In the end, though, the circumstances evened out any benefit Lankans may have enjoyed.
The hosts were in problem from the start of their pursue with Dilshan not able to capitalize in the first over. He holed out to fine-leg going for the pull in the third with Sanath Jayasuriya and Kumar Sangakarra following him back in the first powerplay.
Jayawardene and Kandamby stemmed the fall of wickets, but with the run rate climbing, there was no necessity in going for the boundaries. After the two fell, Lanka sustained to join until close to the end of the match.
Earlier, with Sehwag back in the fold in place of Rohit Sharma, the toss was a easy decision for Dhoni, though the start wasn’t the greatest. Nuwan Kulasekara was cracked over point for a boundary by Sehwag to get the ball rolling, but the fast bowler got back when he dismissed Tendulkar in his next over. Pitched on off, the ball jagged back in to hit the master blaster in front of the leg-stump, but the replays showed that it was drifting further down.
‘Angry’ Chappell says, not concerned about India
Jan 24th
New Delhi: Former India coach Greg Chappell reacted furiously to Virender Sehwag’s latest remarks that the Australian betrayed the faith of players and said he has decided to end all ties with Indian cricket.In a recent interview, Sehwag had said that Chappell had betrayed the faith of the players by leaking information to the media and selectors and that he was not comfortable with the Australian.
“I am not interested in India. Not interested in Indian cricket,” he was quoted by ‘cricdb’ website.
“You can check with Kiran More (what information I was sharing with him)”, Chappell said. Kiran More was the chief selector in most of Chappell’s tenure as coach.
“I am now not going to be associated with the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) also”, he said.
The RCA had hired his services for its academy in Jaipur as advisor. He had also been entrusted with the task of spotting and grooming Twenty20 talent by IPL’s Jaipur franchise, owned by Emerging media.
Chappell is now the new Head Coach of the Cricket Australia Centre of Excellence (COE) in Brisbane.
India’s Cricket tour itinerary to Sri Lanka revised
Jan 22nd
On Thursday the Indian board said, Sri Lanka have revised the itinerary for their home one-day series against India starting afterward this month.
Four of the five ODIs will now be played in Colombo with the second and third games delayed by a day.
The speedily arranged series fills the gap left by India‘s cancelled tour to Pakistan in the consequences of militant attacks in Mumbai last November.
Revised itinerary:
Jan 28 – First ODI at Dambulla
Jan 31 – Second ODI at RPICS, Colombo *
Feb 3 – Third ODI at RPICS, Colombo *
Feb 5 – Fourth ODI at RPICS, Colombo *
Feb 8 – Fifth ODI at SSC, Colombo
Feb 10 – Twenty20 at RPICS, Colombo *
* denotes day/night match
Oz: Somdev loses in qualifiers
Jan 16th
Australian Open: Somdev Devvarman lost the singles main draw in Australian Open after he lost his second round qualifying match to Lukasz Kubot of Poland on Friday.
Seeded 28th, Somdev began in the right earnest to go one up ahead of his opponent staged a sparkling reply to pip him 4-6,6-4,7-5 after three hours of lengthy fight.
New from his runners-up finish in the Chennai Open, world number 154 Somdev transformed both the break points and secured one as well to cover up the first set in 37 minutes.
The 207th ranked Kubot twisted the match in the second set, breaking Somdev once and holding his serve to draw parity.
In the marathon see-saw decider too, Kubot prevailed, converting three break points in opposition to Somdev’s two.
Pakistani PM: Condition on Indian border weak
Jan 10th
Islamabad: Yousaf Raza Gilani Pakistani Prime Minister said on Friday the condition was “fragile” on the border with India, and regretted the deferral of peace meeting following the militant attacks in Mumbai in November.
Gilani’s comments came a day later than the Government confirmed that the single surviving gunman from the attack that killed 179 people in India’s monetary capital was a Pakistani.
The Prime Minister sacked his national defense consultant on Thursday for disclosing this before consulting him.
“The situation on our eastern border has once again become very fragile,” Gilani told a discussion group in Islamabad.
While tensions have run high among the nuclear-armed neighbors, there has been no symbol of a troop build-up by any side, and analysts say probability of India resorting to military act have receded.
Pakistani officials have warned that if there was any threat of a argument with India it would switch military from the western border with Afghanistan, where they are fighting pro-Taliban and al Qaeda militants.
Any such act would weaken inward US president Barack Obama’s preparation to nearly double the number of US troops in Afghanistan as part of a rush plan to suppress the Taliban mutiny.
Dell Dailey, the State Department’s counter terrorism coordinator, told reporters in Washington on Tuesday that the United States had not seen any stir of Pakistanis forces from western border regions to the east “in any degree that’s measurable”.
He said Pakistan stimulated troops to the eastern border in 2002, when it went to the point of a fourth battle with India.
“We do not want that to happen again and we’ll do as much as we can to prevent it,” Dailey said.
Yousuf Raza Gilani: Pak will act if India’s proof is convincing
Jan 6th
Islamabad / New Delhi: Gilani on Monday said that they are reviewing a report that India had handed over to it’s Commissioner in New Delhi about the Mumbai attacks in November.
Prime Minister said that his government remains committed to action against the nationals accused of being connected to the Mumbai attacks if ‘credible’ proof is available against them.
He said this during the meeting with US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, Richard Boucher, who reached here on Monday to calm down the tensions between Pakistan and India.
Prime Minister Gilani spoke of ‘Pakistan’s persistent efforts to defuse current tensions with India, and the government’s commitment to take action against any Pakistani national in case credible evidence is provided,’ The News quoted his office, as saying.
Pakistan has over and over again said that its own inquiry of the attacks could move forward once India shared proofs with Islamabad. In Islamabad, a foreign ministry spokesman confirmed that Pakistan’s High Commissioner to India, Shahid Malik, had received the file in New Delhi on Monday and had sent it to authorities back home.
“The material has been received in Pakistan now and is being examined by concerned authorities,” the spokesman said. “It is our duty, my duty to examine the dossier carefully, understand it and be truthful to myself, to my country and the neighbourhood,” a news agency quoted Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, as saying.
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, in an interview to media persons in New Delhi, said: “We have today handed over to Pakistan evidence of the links with elements in Pakistan of the terrorists who attacked Mumbai on November 26, 2008.”
“We are also briefing all our friendly countries. I have written to my counterparts around the world giving them details of the events in Mumbai and describing in some detail the progress that we have made in our investigations and the evidence that we have collected,” he added.
Minister Pranab Mukherjee added, “The Ministry will also be briefing all resident Heads of Missions here in the next 24 hours. Our Ambassadors will be doing the same in their respective countries of accreditation.”
The evidence includes:-
1.Matter from the interrogation of Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, the Pakistani national who is in police custody for his role in the terror attack, details of the terrorists”
2. Communication links with elements in Pakistan during the Mumbai attacks, recovered weapons and equipment and other articles
3. and data retrieved from recovered GPS and satellite phones.
“This material is linked to elements in Pakistan. It is our expectation that the Government of Pakistan will promptly undertake further investigations in Pakistan and share the results with us so as to bring the perpetrators to justice,” Minister Pranab Mukherjee said.
He added, “We would also hope that Pakistan will implement her bilateral, multilateral and international obligations to prevent terrorism in any manner from territory under her control.”
US Ambassador to India, David C Mulford, on Monday said that a team of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is still in Mumbai pursuing leads into the conspiracy that led to the November 2008 terror attacks on Mumbai, and expressed Washington’s determination to get to the bottom of the conspiracy.
He further went on to say: “Under our American laws, if Americans are killed anywhere, the state itself has a duty to pursue, to get to the bottom of it. This the FBI is doing and will do in the coming weeks and months.”
Prime Minister’s Adviser on Interior Affairs, Rehman Malik said: “We will not take pressure from anyone. We are a sovereign state, and we will act according to our law. Nobody can put pressure on us.”
Hockey: Pakistan calls off India tour
Jan 4th
In a reaction, Pakistan decided to cancel its hockey team’s tour to India for the four-nation Punjab Gold Cup competition to be held later on this month, citing “security risks for the players” as the cause for the cancellation.
The result, which was predictable after India scrapped its cricket team’s tour across the border in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks, will further sprain the sporting ties involving the two countries.
Even though Pakistan Hockey Federation was eager to launch the national team to India, they left the last choice on the Foreign Office.
In view of the rising tensions between the two nations, Sports Minister Jillani said the government had decided not to launch the hockey team to India.
“There is a security risk in sending our players to India at this phase because of the atmosphere in India. So we have not given authorization to the PHF for the tour,” he said.
Amusingly, Jillani’s declaration came after the organizers of the competition had already named New Zealand as Pakistan’s substitution in the double-leg occasion that also features Beijing Olympic gold medalist Germany, the Netherlands and host India.
Pakistan’s involvement in the tournament, to be held in Chandigarh from January 31, had come below cloud after Indian government cancelled the cricket team’s tour to the trouble torn nation.
There was well-liked reaction among citizens and former players that since Indian government refused to launch their cricket team, Pakistani teams should also crumb their India tours in a disciplinary move…
