Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Ankur VidyaBhavan Student















Read more

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Smith: We can win World Twenty20

South Africa captain Graeme Smith believes his side are on course for World Twenty20 glory after they beat West Indies at The Oval.

Teenage pace ace Wayne Parnell took four for 13 as South Africa ran out winners by 20 runs to once again justify their tag as tournament favourites.
Smith: We can win World Twenty20
"It's been a successful week but a tough one," said Smith. "We get an extra day now before we play India and I'm comfortable with where we are, you can't argue with the performances or the results we have turned out in this competition so far."

He added: "As a team we try to challenge ourselves. There are always things to improve on but if we play our best and with our intensity, if we perform to our potential, then we will be difficult to beat.

"I really believe we can win it, but there is a long way to go, a lot of cricket to be played and a lot of good teams in this competition."

The Proteas made 183 for seven from their 20 overs, including 55 from Herschelle Gibbs, and after Parnell had removed openers Chris Gayle and Andre Fletcher they were relatively untroubled in restricting West Indies to 163 for nine.

Lendl Simmons offered brief hope of a Windies fightback, but their chance disappeared when he fell for 77 as South Africa followed up their win over England on Thursday with another impressive performance

West Indies skipper Gayle was unhappy his side had been forced to take to the field just 17 hours after beating India at Lord's last night, but refused to blame the quick turnaround for the defeat.

The Windies next take on England on Monday.

"Twenty20 takes a lot out of you mentally. But we knew the itinerary and we came here to play a good game of cricket so I'm disappointed we lost," said Gayle. "I have to commend the guys for the effort they put in after what happened on Friday. We wanted to better that performance but it didn't happen."
Source:www.google.com/hostednews Read more

Yuvraj looking to bat up the order

Yuvraj Singh on Saturday threw a clear hint that he would prefer a promotion in the batting order, but said he would leave it to his captain or coach to decide his position in the team's line-up.

The left-hander played a magnificent knock of 67 from 43 deliveries against the West Indies on Friday and many believe he could do with a promotion to number three in Sunday's do-or-die Super Eights match of the ICC World Twenty20 against England.

"It is the captain and coach who decide where I bat in the line-up. As any batsman, I would like to bat up the order, but it is important it is about the team and not about where you want to bat.

"If somebody is getting the runs then it is very important to carry on the form for the team. But the team comes first and what the team wants I will do that first," he said, at Lord's.

India's vice-captain also admitted he would draw inspiration from his feat of hitting six sixes against England pacer Stuart Broad in the last tournament in South Africa in 2007.

"Yes, hitting six sixes is always a special memory, especially when you get hit for five. Yeah, that will be in the back of my mind but, as I said, it is a new game," he said.

Yuvraj said the pressure of retaining the trophy is also proving to be a factor for the team, but the boys are confident of a good showing against the hosts on Sunday.

"As defending champions there is always pressure, because you want to defend your title. But T20 is a very unpredictable format and anything can happen. As you saw, Australia went out and they are the top team in the world. The thing is that it is a do-or-die situation for us. But we have done well against England recently and we are very confident about tomorrow's game," he said.

He also seemed thrilled at the idea of resuming his rivalry with England's star batsman Kevin Pietersen , who had once labelled the left-armer a "pie-chucker".

"If I get a chance I would like to bowl to him again and I am sure he would like to call me pie-chucker again. But he is a great batsman and we always look forward to playing each other. We do always spur each other on," he said.

Yuvraj also came out strongly in support of captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni , who has struggled in the tournament so far.

"Just because Dhoni has not scored in one match it does not mean he is a bad batsman and he cannot score in the future. He has performed well for India and played a lot of great innings for the country. I am sure that once he crosses 10 or 15 runs he will once again win matches for India."
Source: www.cricket.rediff.com
Read more

Smith says South Africa can win T20 title

South Africa captain Graeme Smith said his side were well-placed to triumph at the World Twenty20 after extending their unbeaten record at the tournament with a 20-run win over the West Indies.

That victory, coupled with a seven-wicket defeat of hosts England
earlier in the week, meant South Africa had won their opening two Super Eights matches.

The Proteas, who are within touching distance of the semi-finals, complete their second round programme against defending champions India at Trent Bridge on Tuesday.

"I really believe we can win it," said Smith after South Africa's win over the West Indies at The Oval.

"But there is a long way to go, a lot of cricket to be played and a lot of good teams in this competition.

"It's been a successful week but a tough one. We get an extra day now before we play India and I'm comfortable with where we are, you can't argue with the performances or the results we have turned out in this competition so far.

"As a team we try to challenge ourselves. There are always things to improve but if we play our best and with our intensity, if we perform to our potential, then we will be difficult to beat."

South Africa made 183 for seven, Herschelle Gibbs top-scoring with 55, before holding the West Indies to 163 for nine in an innings where teenage left-arm quick Wayne Parnell took four wickets for 13 runs.

"You really need to be on top of your game against the West Indies, especially here at the Oval where the conditions suit them," explained Smith.

Parnell, 19, who took three wickets against England, said: "It's still a batsman's game but if you bowl well you can pick up wickets.

"I enjoy bowling at the death. I have developed my yorker in the last 10 months and I am adding other things to my game."

India went down to a seven-wicket loss to the West Indies at Lord's on Friday.

Before they play South Africa they face England on Sunday at Lord's and Smith said of his team's clash with the title-holders: "There is a lot of cricket in the group before that.

"India had not been really tested in the competition until Friday. I think they will have taken a lot of lessons from that.

"It was their first real competitive game so it going to be interesting to see how they go before Tuesday."
Source:www.cricket.timesofindia.com
Read more

England not afraid of India

England coach Andy Flower was honest while admitting his side's performance in the ongoing Twenty20 World Cup was reflective of their current rankings but said they are not afraid of India in their crucial Super Eights match on Sunday.

Flower said his wards will have to play with "controlled aggression" in their must-win game at Lord's here if they are to stay afloat in the tournament.

"I am not sure where we are ranked in Twenty20 International cricket, but in 50 overs we are sixth in the world and at the moment that is the level we are performing at in 20 overs as well. I think it is a reflection of where we are as a team," Flower said.

"India are a very good side and we respect them tremendously but we aren't fearful of them. We'll play an attacking brand of Twenty20 cricket when we face them. We're definitely not going to win this tournament by playing conservative cricket," he said.

Explaining further, the England coach said he was for controlled aggression instead of unbridled slam-bang.

"There's a blend of attack and good decision-making that you've got to find. It's not just crash, bang, wallop all the time, there is a lot of thought that goes into that crash, bang, wallop and there is a skill to playing the right shot at the right time."

Flower also accepted that lack of top-level experience in this format of the game could count against his side when they take on India's star-studded line-up.

"In terms of international experience - and when I say that I include world tournaments such as the IPL where you've the best players in the world playing - we're lacking some of the experience that other top sides have so we're learning about this game as the tournament progresses," Flower said.

"These tournaments are important to the team's development. Development is something that will happen in time but ultimately it is about performance. This is a World Cup and we want to win it in our home country and performance has to be our first priority."
Read more

Saturday, June 13, 2009

WI v RSA | West Indies vs south Africa highlight video

As challenges go, it’s about as tough as it can get: less than a day after convincingly getting the better of one of the tournament favourites, West Indies need to gear themselves up to take on another. The unkind scheduling means Chris Gayle and Co have less than 18 hours between games against India and South Africa, but so comprehensive was their victory on Friday that they’ll back themselves to do an encore when they take on South Africa at The Oval on Saturday.

Dwayne Bravo was scintillating against India, Fidel Edwards showed plenty of fire with his short-pitched bowling with the new ball, and Lendl Simmons’ cool head ensured the experience and skill of Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan was hardly needed. The challenge is to reproduce the same levels of intensity, for nothing less will do against a side which is on a hot streak, and is looking to become the first team to win six Twenty20 internationals on the trot.

South Africa, along with Sri Lanka, have been the form team of the tournament so far. Unlike the mercurial and unpredictable West Indies, the South Africans take pride in their consistency, and have shown that it takes plenty for them to be beaten, even in a 20-over game. The bowlers have been outstanding, rescuing what seemed a lost cause against New Zealand, and the batting has plenty of depth and class. Can West Indies upset the form book twice in two days?

17th Match of ICC World Twenty20 Cricket tournament from Group E between South Africa vs West Indies (SA vs WI) is scheduled on 13th July, 2009 from 13:30 GMT local time (12:30 GMT) at The Oval, London. Live Cricket Match and Hasan Online Sports will publish live links for watch free online tv streaming and embed multimedia player to stream the match live for free. Read more

Broad warned by ICC over antics

The ICC has requested England fast bowler Stuart Broad not to repeat his controversial attempts to distract a batsman as displayed during the Super Eights match against South Africa. The incident, which occurred during the 17th over of the South African innings, prompted the opposition to approach the ICC for clarification and following a meeting yesterday between match referee Alan Hurst and umpires Steve Davis and Alan Hill they decided it was "not an appropriate action."
Broad warned by ICC over antics
As Broad approached his delivery stride, he pointed towards his side as if to indicate a fielder was out of position, but carried on with his bowling action without disrupting his own rhythm. AB de Villiers worked the ball behind square for a single so Broad's antics didn't bear fruit. It might have been more of a talking point if the ball had brought him a wicket. Broad had done it before as well, during the one-day series at home against West Indies.

Graeme Smith, the South African captain, had said the matter needed clarification. His view appeared to be supported by Law 42.4 of the Laws of Cricket, which states: "It is unfair for any member of the fielding side deliberately to attempt to distract the striker while he is preparing to receive or receiving a delivery."

Paul Collingwood, the England captain, had defended Broad saying he was not going to ask him to stop doing it. England coach Andy Flower claimed former South African allrounder Shaun Pollock had begun the practice some years ago.

"He [Pollock] didn't point to the left as Stuart did but he looked to the left as he was running in," said Flower. "He was probably the first guy I saw do it, which is interesting. I don't think it's a huge issue, to be honest."
Source:www.cricinfo.com Read more

Friday, June 12, 2009

India hit a roadblock | india vs West Indies :t20

The paths India and West Indies took to reach their Super Eights clash couldn't have been more different. India, by virtue of being defending champions, were pooled with the easiest teams and they swept past Bangladesh and Ireland. West Indies, on the other hand, were not favourites to qualify from a group which included Australia and Sri Lanka. They came to Lord's after being stretched by tough opponents and gave India a reality check as to what lies ahead. As MS Dhoni pithily put it, it was one of those days when "nothing really worked".
India v West Indies, ICC World Twenty20, Lord's
India's plans had worked smoothly so far in the tournament. Their make-shift opening pair of Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma, in the absence of Virender Sehwag, succeeded against the Ireland and Bangladesh new-ball attacks. Today they were undone by Fidel Edwards' pace and Dwayne Bravo's variations and the middle order faced its first real test of the competition. Despite Yuvraj Singh's aggressive half-century, India achieved a total that was below par.

"During the middle overs you actually play according to what you get in the first few overs," Dhoni said after the defeat. "If you lose too many wickets in the first few overs, you go for a consolidated approach and play till the 12th or the 13th over so that your lower-order batsmen can come and go after the bowlers. We had to change our plans when Yuvraj and I were batting. We wanted to play the next five or six overs without losing a wicket."

Dhoni and Yuvraj began to consolidate after India were reduced to 29 for 3. The pair took their time in the hope that they would make up for the balls consumed once they were well set and had rebuilt the innings. Yuvraj succeeded but Dhoni didn't and his dismissal, for 11 off 23 balls, set the innings back a long way.

"I got out in the 11th over and that plan got disrupted a bit," Dhoni said. "The intention was not to hit but it went straight to the fielder." Despite the hiccups, a spate of boundaries from Yuvraj, Yusuf Pathan and Harbhajan gave India a fighting chance.

The total of 153 seemed eminently defendable when India's bowlers snuffed out the threat posed by Chris Gayle. They tied him down, allowing him only 22 runs off 28 balls, and he eventually top-edged Yusuf towards short fine leg. However, as reliant as they seem on the pyrotechnics of their captain, West Indies had pushed Sri Lanka in their group match at Trent Bridge without Gayle. Bravo led the charge in that game but couldn't take his team to the top of the group. Today he saw West Indies through to the finish.

Bravo, with his footwork and penchant for the inside-out loft over extra cover, countered India's spinners. He scored 48 runs off 28 balls against Yusuf, Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha, ensuring the asking-rate never got out of hand. He even prospered against Ishant Sharma, who has found rhythm operating with the older ball, scoring at a strike-rate of 183 against him.

"Bravo was milking the bowlers and he got quite a few boundaries in the middle overs," Dhoni said. "He played shots over covers and through midwicket and you can't really have fielders there. We were able to raise the required run rate close to 10 runs per over, we were good at that but he took the game away from us."

West Indies' seven-wicket victory has left India in a precarious position. They now need to win both their games against England and South Africa to qualify for the semi-finals. Coincidentally, they were in the same position against the same opponents two years against in South Africa.
source:www.cricinfo.com
Read more

Younis welcomes Razzaq's return

Pakistan captain Younus Khan is looking forward to welcoming back Abdul Razzaq into the fold after the all-rounder's late call up into the World Twenty20 squad in England.
Younis welcomes Razzaq's return
Razzaq has been given his chance after Yasir Arafat was ruled out of the remainder of the tournament with a hamstring injury.

His return also marks his re-integration into the Pakistan side following an amnesty for former players in the Indian Cricket League - the rival Twenty20 event to the officially sanctioned Indian Premier League.

A hard-hitting batsman and lively reverse-swing bowling make the 29-year-old a potential match-winner.

Although Razzaq will arrive in England too late for Pakistan's opening match of the second phase Super Eights against Sri Lanka at Lord's on Friday, Younus believes he can still have an impact during the rest of the tournament.

"This game is not possible but I think he will manage the last two games," Younus told reporters at Lord's here on Thursday. "He is a good name in world cricket and in Twenty20 he is a fantastic all-rounder.

"He is a senior guy and his return will be good for Pakistan cricket - he would be in any team in the world," added Younus, who could have Razzaq available for Pakistan's second Super Eights match against New Zealand.

Pakistan lost to arch-rivals India by five runs in the inaugural final of the World Twenty20 in South Africa two years ago.

They looked a shadow of that side during a 48-run thrashing by hosts England first time out at this tournament but bounced back with a convincing win over minnows the Netherlands to book their place in the second round.

"People know that if Pakistan do things right at the right time we can beat any team," Younus stressed.

His refusal to take Twenty20 too seriously and generally relaxed, happy go lucky style of captaincy, have led to raised eyebrows in some quarters.

But Younus defended his approach by saying: "I am a simple guy, sometimes people think I am wrong because when we lose I am still laughing. You must look forward, if you lose or win.

"This is life," he insisted. "Sometimes you have good days, sometimes you have bad days.

"We are focusing on the first two games of this Super Eights. If we win them then we will be in the semi-finals."
Source: www.cricbuzz.com
Read more

Thursday, June 11, 2009

India and Sri Lanka victorious

REIGNING champion India and fellow favourite Sri Lanka have wrapped up their World Twenty20 first-round assignments with convincing wins at Trent Bridge.
Tillekeratne Dilshan helps Sri Lanka get off to a good start against West Indies.
India warmed up for the second round Super Eights by crushing hapless Ireland by eight wickets on Wednesday, while veteran opener Sanath Jayasuriya smashed 81 as Sri Lanka defeated the West Indies by 15 runs.

Left-arm seamer Zaheer Khan claimed 4-19, including three wickets in seven balls, to restrict Ireland to 8-112 in a match reduced to 18 overs a side due to rain.

Opener Rohit Sharma then hit an unbeaten 52 off 45 balls as India romped home with 15 balls to spare to end the preliminary league with two successive wins. Gautam Gamhir chipped in with 37 in a first-wicket stand of 77 with Sharma in front of a sellout crowd.

India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni said there was still room for improvement. "The bowlers did very well … (But) we can do better in the field. It wasn't our best day."

The Irish, surprise qualifiers for the Super Eights after beating Bangladesh, never recovered from Zaheer's triple strike, which reduced them to 4-28 by the seventh over. Andrew White top-scored with 29 as four of the top six batsmen failed to reach double figures.

Jayasuriya and Tillekeratne Dilshan hammered an opening stand of 124 as Sri Lanka eased past the West Indies. The duo lifted Sri Lanka to 5-192, a total the West Indies chased bravely despite the absence of explosive opener and captain Chris Gayle, who missed the match due to a knee injury.

The West Indians ended at 5-177, fired by a spectacular counter-attack by Dwayne Bravo and Ramnaresh Sarwan, who put on 77 off 59 balls for the fifth wicket.

Bravo hit a 38-ball 51 that included five fours and two sixes, while Sarwan remained unbeaten on 28.

"I'm happy with the way the guys played," said Sri Lanka skipper Kumar Sangakkara.

"Sanath is a genius and he was ably supported by Dilshan. They proved that with a good start you can put up a very defendable total."

Left-handed Jayasuriya, at 39 the oldest player in the 12-nation tournament, smashed 81 off 47 balls, studded with 10 boundaries and three sixes.


THE SUPER EIGHTS

GROUP ESouth Africa

India

England

West Indies

GROUP FSri Lanka

Pakistan

New Zealand

Ireland
Source:www.theage.com.au
Read more