Sports

Pak Vs Sri Ist test photos, SL won by 50 runs

2009-07-07T10:09:00.000-07:00

Younus Khan walks back to the pavilion following his dismissal during the second day of the first Test match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka

Angelo Mathews celebrates with teammates the dismissal of Younus Khan during the second day of the first Test match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka

Nuwan Kulasekara is congratulated by his teammates after dismissing Abdur Rauf during the second day of the first Test match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka

Ajantha Mendis and wicketkeeper Tillakaratne Dilshan unsuccessfully appeal for a Leg Before Wicket decision against Abdur Rauf

Thilan Thushara has words with umpire Daryl Harper as the teams leave the field due to rain for the second day of the first Test match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka

Rangana Herath is congratulated by his teammates after dismissing Misbah-ul-Haq during the second day of the first Test match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka

Misbah-ul-Haq hits a stroke while Tillakaratne Dilshan looks on during the second day of the first Test match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka

Mohammad Yousuf runs between wickets as Tillakaratne Dilshan looks on during the second day of the first Test match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka

Mohammad Yousuf raises his bat in celebration after scoring a century during the second day of the first Test match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka

Nuwan Kulasekara celebrates dismissing Shoaib Malik during the second day of the first Test match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka

Srilanka Vs Pak Ist test Hilight photos, SL won by 50 runs

2009-07-07T09:52:00.000-07:00

Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara was out early to Mohd Aamir

Mahela Jayawardene walks back dejected after falling at the stroke of lunch

Pakistan pacer Abdur Rauf appeals unsuccessfully

Tharanga Paranavitana celebrates his half-century in the first innings

Tharanga Paranavitana plays a shot during his knock of 72

Younis Khan celebrates after taking the wicket of Thilan Samaraweera

Mohammad Aamer celebrates after taking the wicket of Tillakaratne Dilshan

Younus Khan celebrates after the dismissal of Rangana Herath during the third day of the first Test match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka

Pakistan got early breakthroughs through debutant pacer Mohammad

Tharanga Paranavitana runs between wickets as Umar Gul looks on during the third day of the first Test match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka

Mohammad Aamer celebrates after the dismissal of Kumar Sangakkara during the third day of the first Test match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka

Younus Khan is congratulated by teammate wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal and Misbah-ul-Haq after the dismissal of Tillakaratne Dilshan

Thilan Samaraweera plays a shot as Kamran Akmal looks on during the third day of the first Test match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka

Abdur Rauf is congratulated by teammates after the dismissal of Angelo Mathews during third day of the first Test match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka

Aamir

SL Vs PAK Ist Test

2009-07-07T09:37:00.000-07:00

SL vs PAK, 1st Test at Galle - PAK 2nd Innings

Match Details

TEST at Galle, Jul 04, 2009 - Jul 08, 2009

Series

Pakistan in SriLanka

Match Venue

Galle International Stadium, Galle, Sri Lanka

Match Officials

Daryl Harper And Ian Gould (Umpire), Alan Hurst (Match Referee), Kumar Dharmasena (Tv Umpire), Ranmore Martinesz (Reserve Umpire)

Other Innings

Sri Lanka 292/10(80.2) | Pakistan 342/10(94) | Sri Lanka 217/10(56.2)

Toss

PAK won the toss and elected to Field

Man of the Match

HMRKB Herath

Match Status

SL won by 50 runs

This Over

Pakistan	117/10 (44.3)	Runs	Balls	4s	6s	SR
Khurram Manzoor	c DPMD Jayawardene b BAW Mendis	15	42	1	0	35.71
Salman Butt	c NT Paranavitana b HMRKB Herath	28	53	4	0	52.83
Younus Khan (c)	lbw b AD Mathews	3	2	0	0	150.00
Mohammad Yousuf	lbw b HMRKB Herath	12	25	1	0	48.00
Misbah-Ul-Haq	run out (TM Dilshan)	7	24	0	0	29.17
Shoaib Malik	c TM Dilshan b T Thushara	0	3	0	0	0.00
Kamran Akmal (wk)	lbw b T Thushara	6	12	1	0	50.00
Abdul Rauf	c DPMD Jayawardene b HMRKB Herath	13	54	0	0	24.07
Umar Gul	b BAW Mendis	9	28	0	0	32.14
Mohammad Aamer	c TM Dilshan b HMRKB Herath	6	16	0	0	37.50
Saeed Ajmal	not out	1	8	0	0	12.50

Extras : 17 (b:13, lb:3, nb:0, wd:1)

Total : 117/10 (44.3)

Curr.RR: 2.63

FOW : Khurram Manzoor (36-1, 11.1), Younus Khan (39-2, 12.1), Mohammad Yousuf (71-3, 20.1), Salman Butt (72-4, 20.4), Shoaib Malik (72-5, 21.3), Kamran Akmal (80-6, 25.1), Misbah-Ul-Haq (85-7, 27.5), Umar Gul (95-8, 35.1), Mohammad Aamer (110-9, 40.2), Abdul Rauf (117-10, 44.3)

Sri Lanka	O	M	R	W	Nb	Wd	Econ
KMDN Kulasekara	7	1	25	0	0	0	3.57
T Thushara	12	4	21	2	0	1	1.75
AD Mathews	4	0	13	1	0	0	3.25
BAW Mendis	10	0	27	2	0	0	2.70
* HMRKB Herath	11.3	5	15	4	0	0	1.30

Sri Lanka : BSM Warnapura, NT Paranavitana, KC Sangakkara(c, wk), DPMD Jayawardene, TT Samaraweera, TM Dilshan, AD Mathews, KMDN Kulasekara, T Thushara, BAW Mendis, HMRKB Herath

SL vs PAK, 1st Test at Galle - SL 2nd Innings

Match Details

TEST at Galle, Jul 04, 2009 - Jul 08, 2009

Series

Pakistan in SriLanka

Match Venue

Galle International Stadium, Galle, Sri Lanka

Match Officials

Daryl Harper And Ian Gould (Umpire), Alan Hurst (Match Referee), Kumar Dharmasena (Tv Umpire), Ranmore Martinesz (Reserve Umpire)

Other Innings

Sri Lanka 292/10(80.2) | Pakistan 342/10(94) | Pakistan 117/10(44.3)

Toss

PAK won the toss and elected to Field

Man of the Match

HMRKB Herath

Match Status

SL won by 50 runs

This Over

Sri Lanka	217/10 (56.2)	Runs	Balls	4s	6s	SR
HMRKB Herath	lbw b Younus Khan	15	60	2	0	25.00
BSM Warnapura	c Younus Khan b Umar Gul	0	2	0	0	0.00
NT Paranavitana	c Kamran Akmal b Mohammad Aamer	49	58	5	0	84.48
KC Sangakkara (c),(wk)	c Kamran Akmal b Mohammad Aamer	14	31	1	0	45.16
DPMD Jayawardene	c Kamran Akmal b Mohammad Aamer	0	4	0	0	0.00
TT Samaraweera	c Misbah-Ul-Haq b Saeed Ajmal	34	67	7	0	50.75
TM Dilshan	c Khurram Manzoor b Younus Khan	22	27	4	0	81.48
AD Mathews	c Salman Butt b Abdul Rauf	27	34	3	0	79.41
KMDN Kulasekara	lbw b Saeed Ajmal	25	47	4	0	53.19
T Thushara	not out	15	10	3	0	150.00
BAW Mendis	b Saeed Ajmal	1	5	0	0	20.00

Extras : 15 (b:0, lb:7, nb:7, wd:1)

Total : 217/10 (56.2)

Curr.RR: 3.85

FOW : BSM Warnapura (0-1, 1.2), HMRKB Herath (68-2, 16.5), NT Paranavitana (86-3, 21.3), DPMD Jayawardene (88-4, 23.1), KC Sangakkara (101-5, 25.6), TM Dilshan (138-6, 36.1), TT Samaraweera (156-7, 41.2), AD Mathews (191-8, 51.6), KMDN Kulasekara (211-9, 54.5), BAW Mendis (217-10, 56.2)

Pakistan	O	M	R	W	Nb	Wd	Econ
Mohammad Aamer	11	2	38	3	0	0	3.45
Umar Gul	10	2	62	1	6	1	6.20
Abdul Rauf	13	0	49	1	0	0	3.77
Younus Khan (c)	10	1	27	2	1	0	2.70
Saeed Ajmal	12.2	0	34	3	0	0	2.76

Pakistan : Salman Butt, Khurram Manzoor, Younus Khan(c), Mohammad Yousuf, Misbah-Ul-Haq, Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal(wk), Saeed Ajmal, Umar Gul, Mohammad Aamer, Abdul Rauf

SL vs PAK, 1st Test at Galle - PAK 1st Innings

Match Details

TEST at Galle, Jul 04, 2009 - Jul 08, 2009

Series

Pakistan in SriLanka

Match Venue

Galle International Stadium, Galle, Sri Lanka

Match Officials

Daryl Harper And Ian Gould (Umpire), Alan Hurst (Match Referee), Kumar Dharmasena (Tv Umpire), Ranmore Martinesz (Reserve Umpire)

Other Innings

Sri Lanka 292/10(80.2) | Sri Lanka 217/10(56.2) | Pakistan 117/10(44.3)

Toss

PAK won the toss and elected to Field

Man of the Match

HMRKB Herath

Match Status

SL won by 50 runs

This Over

Pakistan	342/10 (94)	Runs	Balls	4s	6s	SR
Khurram Manzoor	lbw b T Thushara	2	12	0	0	16.67
Salman Butt	b KMDN Kulasekara	0	1	0	0	0.00
Younus Khan (c)	c TM Dilshan b AD Mathews	25	55	2	0	45.45
Abdul Rauf	c TM Dilshan b KMDN Kulasekara	31	51	4	0	60.78
Mohammad Yousuf	run out (TM Dilshan)	114	186	10	0	61.29
Misbah-Ul-Haq	c DPMD Jayawardene b HMRKB Herath	58	128	9	0	45.31
Shoaib Malik	b KMDN Kulasekara	36	71	4	0	50.70
Kamran Akmal (wk)	run out (AD Mathews)	31	35	6	0	88.57
Umar Gul	b KMDN Kulasekara	7	9	0	1	77.78
Mohammad Aamer	c NT Paranavitana b T Thushara	4	21	0	0	19.05
Saeed Ajmal	not out	1	2	0	0	50.00

Extras : 33 (b:12, lb:13, nb:7, wd:1)

Total : 342/10 (94)

Curr.RR: 3.64

FOW : Salman Butt (1-1, 0.2), Khurram Manzoor (5-2, 3.5), Abdul Rauf (55-3, 16.4), Younus Khan (80-4, 20.6), Misbah-Ul-Haq (219-5, 59.2), Mohammad Yousuf (294-6, 81.6), Shoaib Malik (303-7, 84.6), Umar Gul (329-8, 88.4), Kamran Akmal (339-9, 91.1), Mohammad Aamer (342-10, 93.6)

Sri Lanka	O	M	R	W	Nb	Wd	Econ
KMDN Kulasekara	24	4	70	4	0	0	2.92
T Thushara	21	3	80	2	3	0	3.81
BAW Mendis	25	2	89	0	4	0	3.56
AD Mathews	8	2	26	1	0	1	3.25
* HMRKB Herath	16	2	52	1	0	0	3.25

Sri Lanka : BSM Warnapura, NT Paranavitana, KC Sangakkara(c, wk), DPMD Jayawardene, TT Samaraweera, TM Dilshan, AD Mathews, KMDN Kulasekara, T Thushara, BAW Mendis, HMRKB Herath

SL vs PAK, 1st Test at Galle - SL 1st Innings

Match Details

TEST at Galle, Jul 04, 2009 - Jul 08, 2009

Series

Pakistan in SriLanka

Match Venue

Galle International Stadium, Galle, Sri Lanka

Match Officials

Daryl Harper And Ian Gould (Umpire), Alan Hurst (Match Referee), Kumar Dharmasena (Tv Umpire), Ranmore Martinesz (Reserve Umpire)

Other Innings

Pakistan 342/10(94) | Sri Lanka 217/10(56.2) | Pakistan 117/10(44.3)

Toss

PAK won the toss and elected to Field

Man of the Match

HMRKB Herath

Match Status

SL won by 50 runs

This Over

Sri Lanka	292/10 (80.2)	Runs	Balls	4s	6s	SR
BSM Warnapura	b Mohammad Aamer	2	8	0	0	25.00
NT Paranavitana	c Misbah-Ul-Haq b Abdul Rauf	72	125	11	0	57.60
KC Sangakkara (c),(wk)	c Shoaib Malik b Mohammad Aamer	9	9	1	0	100.00
DPMD Jayawardene	c Kamran Akmal b Abdul Rauf	30	48	6	0	62.50
TT Samaraweera	c Kamran Akmal b Younus Khan	31	67	3	0	46.27
TM Dilshan	c Shoaib Malik b Mohammad Aamer	28	43	4	0	65.12
AD Mathews	c Kamran Akmal b Umar Gul	42	57	6	0	73.68
KMDN Kulasekara	c Kamran Akmal b Younus Khan	38	62	5	1	61.29
HMRKB Herath	not out	20	49	2	0	40.82
T Thushara	c Khurram Manzoor b Saeed Ajmal	10	11	1	0	90.91
BAW Mendis	st Kamran Akmal b Saeed Ajmal	5	4	1	0	125.00

Extras : 5 (b:1, lb:3, nb:1, wd:0)

Total : 292/10 (80.2)

Curr.RR: 3.63

FOW : BSM Warnapura (3-1, 1.6), KC Sangakkara (21-2, 5.1), DPMD Jayawardene (96-3, 21.6), NT Paranavitana (139-4, 39.4), TT Samaraweera (160-5, 45.2), TM Dilshan (194-6, 54.1), AD Mathews (241-7, 64.2), KMDN Kulasekara (271-8, 75.3), T Thushara (282-9, 78.5), BAW Mendis (292-10, 80.2)

Pakistan	O	M	R	W	Nb	Wd	Econ
Umar Gul	14	3	45	1	1	0	3.21
Mohammad Aamer	19	3	74	3	0	0	3.89
Abdul Rauf	14	1	59	2	0	0	4.21
Younus Khan (c)	7	2	23	2	0	0	3.29
Saeed Ajmal	23.2	4	79	2	0	0	3.39
Shoaib Malik	3	1	8	0	0	0	2.67

W.I. Vs IND 4th ODI

2009-07-07T09:33:00.000-07:00

WI vs IND, 4th ODI at Gros Islet - WI batting

Match Details

ODI (max. 49 overs) at Gros Islet, Jul 05, 2009

Series

India in West Indies

Match Venue

Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, Saint Lucia

Match Officials

Nigel Llong And Clyde Duncan (Umpire), Chris Broad (Match Referee), Goaland Greaves (Tv Umpire), Vincent Bullen (Reserve Umpire)

Other Innings

Toss

IND won the toss and elected to Field

Man of the Match

Match Status

Match Abandoned, Play called-off due to rain

This Over

West Indies	27/1 (7.3)	Runs	Balls	4s	6s	SR
CH Gayle (c)	c MS Dhoni b I Sharma	0	2	0	0	0.00
RS Morton	not out	12	22	0	0	54.55
*RR Sarwan	not out	12	22	0	0	54.55
S Chanderpaul
DJ Bravo
D Ramdin (wk)
Darren Bravo
DE Bernard
JE Taylor
SJ Benn
R Rampaul

Extras : 3 (b:0, lb:1, nb:1, wd:1)

Total : 27/1 (7.3)

Curr.RR: 3.60

FOW : CH Gayle (0-1, 0.2)

India	O	M	R	W	Nb	Wd	Econ
I Sharma	4	0	17	1	0	0	4.25
* A Nehra	3.3	1	9	0	1	1	2.57

Power Plays : 1-9

India : KD Karthik, G Gambhir, RG Sharma, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni(c, wk), YK Pathan, AM Nayar, Harbhajan Singh, RP Singh, I Sharma, A Nehra

IND vs W.I 3rd ODI Hilighlet photos

2009-07-03T20:22:00.000-07:00

MS Dhoni flashes a thumbs-up sign after guiding India to a 2-1 series lead, West Indies v India, 3rd ODI, St Lucia, July 3, 2009

MS Dhoni signals to the pavilion after the victory while a dejected Ravi Rampaul looks on, West Indies v India, 3rd ODI, St Lucia, July 3, 2009

MS Dhoni launches a Jerome Taylor delivery to the midwicket boundary, West Indies v India, 3rd ODI, St Lucia, July 3, 2009

Gautam Gambhir miscues the ball to the leg side, West Indies v India, 3rd ODI, St Lucia, July 3, 2009

Dinesh Karthik winds up for a big hit, West Indies v India, 3rd ODI, St Lucia, July 3, 2009

Ramnaresh Sarwan swings one away to midwicket, West Indies v India, 3rd ODI, St Lucia, July 3, 2009

MS Dhoni whips off the bails before Ramnaresh Sarwan makes his ground, West Indies v India, 3rd ODI, St Lucia, July 3, 2009

Ashish Nehra was easily the best of the Indian bowlers, West Indies v India, 3rd ODI, St Lucia, July 3, 2009

Ramnaresh Sarwan top scored with 62, West Indies v India, 3rd ODI, St Lucia, July 3, 2009

Chris Gayle gets ready to play a tennis forehand-like shot off Ishant Sharma, West Indies v India, 3rd ODI, St Lucia, July 3, 2009

Ashish Nehra and Yusuf Pathan celebrate the dismissal of Chris Gayle, West Indies v India, 3rd ODI, St Lucia, July 3, 2009

2009-07-03T20:05:00.000-07:00

WI vs IND, 3rd ODI at Gros Islet - IND batting

Match Details	ODI (max. 27 overs) at Gros Islet, Jul 03, 2009
Series	India in West Indies
Match Venue	Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, Saint Lucia
Match Officials	Nigel Llong And Clyde Duncan (Umpire), Chris Broad (Match Referee), Goaland Greaves (Tv Umpire), Vincent Bullen (Reserve Umpire)
Other Innings	West Indies 185/7(27)
Toss	IND won the toss and elected to Field
Man of the Match	MS Dhoni
Match Status	IND won by 6 wickets

India	159/4 (21.5)	Runs	Balls	4s	6s	SR
KD Karthik	run out (R Rampaul)	47	43	5	1	109.30
G Gambhir	c D Ramdin b SJ Benn	44	38	2	0	115.79
*MS Dhoni (c),(wk)	not out	46	34	2	1	135.29
Yuvraj Singh	c Darren Bravo b DE Bernard	2	6	0	0	33.33
RG Sharma	c DE Bernard b DJ Bravo	11	9	0	0	122.22
YK Pathan	not out	1	2	0	0	50.00
AM Nayar
Harbhajan Singh
RP Singh
I Sharma
A Nehra

Extras : 8 (b:0, lb:4, nb:1, wd:3)

Total : 159/4 (21.5)

Curr.RR: 7.28 | Req.RR: 0.00

FOW : KD Karthik (84-1, 12.1), G Gambhir (108-2, 15.1), Yuvraj Singh (117-3, 16.6), RG Sharma (148-4, 20.5)

West Indies	O	M	R	W	Nb	Wd	Econ
* JE Taylor	3.5	0	39	0	0	1	10.17
R Rampaul	4	0	26	0	1	0	6.50
DJ Bravo	4	0	27	1	0	0	6.75
DE Bernard	3	0	21	1	0	2	7.00
SJ Benn	5	0	31	1	0	0	6.20
CH Gayle (c)	2	0	11	0	0	0	5.50

Power Plays : 1-5

West Indies : CH Gayle(c), RS Morton, RR Sarwan, S Chanderpaul, DJ Bravo, D Ramdin(wk), Darren Bravo, DE Bernard, JE Taylor, SJ Benn, R Rampaul

WI vs IND, 3rd ODI at Gros Islet - WI batting

Match Details

ODI (max. 27 overs) at Gros Islet, Jul 03, 2009

Series

India in West Indies

Match Venue

Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, Saint Lucia

Match Officials

Nigel Llong And Clyde Duncan (Umpire), Chris Broad (Match Referee), Goaland Greaves (Tv Umpire), Vincent Bullen (Reserve Umpire)

Other Innings

India 159/4(21.5)

Toss

IND won the toss and elected to Field

Man of the Match

MS Dhoni

Match Status

IND won by 6 wickets

This Over

West Indies	185/7 (27)	Runs	Balls	4s	6s	SR
CH Gayle (c)	c MS Dhoni b A Nehra	27	14	6	0	192.86
RS Morton	st MS Dhoni b Harbhajan Singh	22	34	2	0	64.71
RR Sarwan	run out (G Gambhir)	62	58	5	1	106.90
S Chanderpaul	c A Nehra b YK Pathan	15	14	2	0	107.14
DJ Bravo	c MS Dhoni b A Nehra	13	18	1	0	72.22
Darren Bravo	b A Nehra	21	16	3	0	131.25
D Ramdin (wk)	not out	14	6	1	1	233.33
JE Taylor	c I Sharma b Harbhajan Singh	1	2	0	0	50.00
DE Bernard
SJ Benn
R Rampaul

Extras : 10 (b:0, lb:7, nb:0, wd:3)

Total : 185/7 (27)

Curr.RR: 6.85

IND Vs W.I. 2nd ODI Hilight Photos

2009-06-29T11:04:00.000-07:00

WI vs IND, 26th Jun 2009

KINGSTON (Reuters) - Scoreboard from the second one-day international between West Indies and India at Sabina Park on Sunday:

India innings

D. Karthik c Ramdin b Taylor 4

G. Gambhir c Ramdin b Rampaul 0

R. Sharma c Morton b Rampaul 0

Yuvraj Singh c Ramdin b Taylor 35

MS Dhoni b Taylor 95

Y. Pathan c Gayle b Dwayne Bravo 0

R. Jadeja c Ramdin b Rampaul 7

Harbhajan Singh c Ramdin b Dwayne Bravo 7

P Kumar c Gayle b Rampaul 1

RP Singh c Benn b Dwayne Bravo 23

A Nehra not out 0

Extras (lb 4, w 12) 16

Total (all out; 48.2 overs) 188

Fall of wickets: 1-4 2-6 3-7 4-54 5-57 6-70 7-81 8-82 9-183

Bowling: J. Taylor 9.2-0-35-3, R. Rampaul 10-2-37-4, D.Bravo 9-0-26-3, S. Benn 10-1-37-0, D.Bernard 7-0-36-0, C. Gayle 3-0-13-0

West Indies innings

C. Gayle c Gambhir b Sharma 64

R. Morton not out 85

R. Sarwan st Dhoni b Sharma 15

S. Chanderpaul not out 18

Extras (lb 5, w 4, nb 1) 10

Total (two wickets; 34.1 overs) 192

Did not bat: Dwayne Bravo, Darren Bravo, D. Ramdin, J. Taylor, D. Bernard, S. Benn, R. Rampaul

Fall of wickets: 1-101 2-132

Bowling: Kumar 7-1-37-0, Nehra 4-0-36-0, RP Singh 3-0-15-0, Pathan 2-0-15-0, Harbhajan Singh 8.1-0-45-0, Sharma 8-0-27-2, Jadeja 2-0-12-0

Result: West Indies won by eight wickets. Four-match series now tied at 1-1.

2009-06-26T22:24:00.000-07:00

Yuvraj Singh still seemed to be stuck in Twenty20 mode, and rescued India with a boundary-laced 131 in the first One-day International against West Indies on Friday.

Yuvraj struck 10 fours and seven sixes from 102 balls to propel India to 339 for six from their 50 overs, after the visitors chose to bat at Sabina Park in the opener to their four-match series in the Caribbean.

When Yuvraj entered, India had stumbled to 32 for two in the eighth over, following the dismissals of Gautam Gambhir in the fifth over and Rohit Sharma in the eighth.

Gambhir was caught at mid-wicket for 13 when he miscued a hook at Jerome Taylor, and Sharma was caught at deep square leg for four when he top-edged a pull off Lionel Baker.

But Yuvraj joined Karthik, and the left-hander treated the modest crowd to a breath-taking array of strokes to reach his hundred from 88 balls, when he steered Taylor to third man for a single.

He added 135 for the third wicket with Dinesh Karthik, who was caught behind off Dave Bernard Jr for 67 from 77 balls, when he miscued a scoop shot in the 29th over.

Yuvraj reached 50 from 55 balls, when he turned a delivery from West Indies captain Chris Gayle into square leg for two, and then dominated an 86-run, fourth-wicket stand with India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Yuvraj indulged himself during the Batting Power Play that spanned the 34th and 38th overs, when he smashed two fours and six sixes, as India added 62 runs.

The 37th over was particularly memorable for Yuvraj, when he struck Taylor for two sixes - over mid-wicket and long-off - in an over that cost 21.

But Yuvraj was slightly hobbled by a Taylor yorker, and eventually tamely surrendered, when he was caught behind off Dwayne Bravo in the 39th over glancing a leg-side delivery.

After his dismissal, India made steady, if not spectacular progress in the closing overs, and left West Indies with a difficult assignment in the second half of the match.

Dwayne Bravo captured two wickets for 66 runs from his 10 overs to be the pick of West Indies' bowlers.

2009-06-26T22:08:00.000-07:00

WI vs IND, 1st ODI at Kingston - WI batting

Match Details

ODI (max. 50 overs) at Kingston, Jun 26, 2009

Series

India in West Indies

Match Venue

Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica

Match Officials

Nigel Llong And Norman Malcolm (Umpire), Chris Broad (Match Referee), Clancy Mack (Tv Umpire), Cecil Fletcher (Reserve Umpire)

Other Innings

India 339/6(50)

Toss

IND won the toss and elected to Bat

Man of the Match

Yuvraj Singh

Match Status

IND won by 20 runs

This Over

West Indies	319/10 (48.1)	Runs	Balls	4s	6s	SR
CH Gayle (c)	c Harbhajan Singh b A Nehra	37	33	5	1	112.12
RS Morton	c MS Dhoni b YK Pathan	42	51	4	1	82.35
RR Sarwan	run out (RP Singh)	45	42	1	3	107.14
S Chanderpaul	c RA Jadeja b YK Pathan	63	59	3	3	106.78
DJ Bravo	c RG Sharma b I Sharma	8	21	0	0	38.10
Darren Bravo	c RP Singh b Harbhajan Singh	19	16	2	0	118.75
JE Taylor	lbw b YK Pathan	21	15	4	0	140.00
D Ramdin (wk)	c Harbhajan Singh b A Nehra	29	26	1	1	111.54
DE Bernard	c RG Sharma b A Nehra	19	20	1	0	95.00
SJ Benn	b RP Singh	7	6	1	0	116.67
LS Baker	not out	0	2	0	0	0.00

Extras : 29 (b:4, lb:4, nb:2, wd:19)

Total : 319/10 (48.1)

Curr.RR: 6.62 | Req.RR: 11.45

FOW : CH Gayle (65-1, 9.3), RS Morton (100-2, 15.5), RR Sarwan (151-3, 24.6), DJ Bravo (188-4, 31.5), S Chanderpaul (224-5, 35.4), Darren Bravo (241-6, 38.3), JE Taylor (250-7, 39.3), DE Bernard (294-8, 44.5), SJ Benn (318-9, 47.4), D Ramdin (319-10, 48.1)

India	O	M	R	W	Nb	Wd	Econ
RP Singh	7	0	44	1	1	3	6.29
* A Nehra	7.1	1	49	3	1	2	6.84
I Sharma	5	0	38	1	0	1	7.60
RA Jadeja	7	1	34	0	0	0	4.86
YK Pathan	8	0	56	3	0	4	7.00
Harbhajan Singh	10	0	56	1	0	3	5.60
Yuvraj Singh	4	0	34	0	0	0	8.50

Power Plays : 1-10, 11-15, 36-40

India : KD Karthik, G Gambhir, RG Sharma, MS Dhoni(c, wk), Yuvraj Singh, YK Pathan, RA Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, I Sharma, A Nehra, RP Singh

WI vs IND, 1st ODI at Kingston - IND batting

Match Details

ODI (max. 50 overs) at Kingston, Jun 26, 2009

Series

India in West Indies

Match Venue

Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica

Match Officials

Nigel Llong And Norman Malcolm (Umpire), Chris Broad (Match Referee), Clancy Mack (Tv Umpire), Cecil Fletcher (Reserve Umpire)

Other Innings

West Indies 319/10(48.1)

Toss

IND won the toss and elected to Bat

Man of the Match

Yuvraj Singh

Match Status

IND won by 20 runs

This Over

India	339/6 (50)	Runs	Balls	4s	6s	SR
KD Karthik	c D Ramdin b DE Bernard	67	77	6	1	87.01
G Gambhir	c DJ Bravo b JE Taylor	13	14	0	1	92.86
RG Sharma	c DJ Bravo b LS Baker	4	12	0	0	33.33
Yuvraj Singh	c D Ramdin b DJ Bravo	131	102	10	7	128.43
MS Dhoni (c),(wk)	run out (D Ramdin)	41	46	2	1	89.13
RA Jadeja	c D Ramdin b DJ Bravo	0	1	0	0	0.00
YK Pathan	not out	40	38	2	2	105.26
Harbhajan Singh	not out	21	13	0	2	161.54
I Sharma
A Nehra
RP Singh

Extras : 22 (b:1, lb:8, nb:3, wd:10)

Total : 339/6 (50)

Curr.RR: 6.78

FOW : G Gambhir (25-1, 4.3), RG Sharma (32-2, 7.2), KD Karthik (167-3, 28.4), Yuvraj Singh (253-4, 38.1), RA Jadeja (253-5, 38.2), MS Dhoni (298-6, 46.2)

West Indies	O	M	R	W	Nb	Wd	Econ
JE Taylor	10	1	74	1	2	3	7.40
LS Baker	9	0	62	1	1	1	6.89
DJ Bravo	10	0	66	2	0	3	6.60
DE Bernard	8	0	50	1	0	3	6.25
SJ Benn	10	0	50	0	0	0	5.00
CH Gayle (c)	3	0	28	0	0	0	9.33

Power Plays : 1-10, 11-15, 34-38

2009-06-26T03:54:00.000-07:00

Ganguly defends school project amid protest

Indiaabroad, Indo Asian News Service,

Kolkata, June 25 (IANS) Even as a section of residents sat on a hunger strike against his move to construct a school at the upscale satellite township of Salt Lake, former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly Thursday asserted that the project was in tune with the laws and regulations of the land.

'I have never in my life done anything against rules or regulations. I have never broken the law. In this case also all regulations have been followed,' Ganguly said on the sidelines of a programme at his cricket coaching centre.

Ganguly's comments came at the end of a day that saw locals being joined by artists and intellectuals in the hunger strike opposite the plot where the school is scheduled to come up.

An NGO, Humanity, which organised the hunger strike. Noted painter Suvaprasanna and educationist Sunanda Sanyal also joined the agitation.

A section of the residents are opposing the project saying the stretch of the road already had two schools and the area was originally earmarked for a college.

'We have nothing against Ganguly. He is a hero. But we feel the plot of land has been given to him by flouting all rules,' Suvaprasanna told IANS.

The painter said the state's ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) wanted to use star players for their propaganda. 'That's the reason they are giving him these kinds of sops which will only spoil his reputation.'

Suvaprasanna said the plot was also 'grossly underpriced'.

'As per the government rate, the plot (23 cottahs) should be priced at more than Rs.15 million. But it has been handed over to him for only Rs.2.3 million,' he said.

The painter said with two schools in the vicinity, big traffic snarls occur there every morning and afternoon. 'A total of 3,900 students study in the two schools. A third school will make the area unlivable.'

2009-06-22T11:44:00.000-07:00

Federer focused on title alone

Roger Federer will banish thoughts of creating tennis history as he seeks to regain his Wimbledon title.

Federer's victory in the French Open earlier this month saw him become only the sixth man to complete a career Grand Slam.

And a first triumph at Roland Garros also meant the Swiss star equalled Pete Sampras' record of 14 major titles.

The 27-year-old now has the chance to break that record at the All England Club, where he has already won five titles and was only denied a sixth in succession by Rafael Nadal in last year's epic final.

With Nadal absent this year through injury, Federer is the hot favourite to lift the trophy again come July 5, but the world number two is trying to keep thoughts of a record 15th grand slam at the back of his mind.

"In Paris it was just about trying to win my first Paris," Federer said.

"Then if it happens at the same time that I was able to tie Andre Agassi or Rod Laver by winning all four majors, or the 14 of Sampras, it was maybe very fitting that it all happened at once.

"But I didn't particularly enter the French trying to tie Pete's record. I was just trying to win my first Roland Garros. It's a very different approach.

"I think when you're down lower, when you have eight or nine majors maybe and you're trying to get up there, this is when you're maybe forcing it more.

"Since I've been very close, I knew I had some time on my side. I knew if things fell into place that I was gonna win more majors. Same thing here. I don't feel any pressure having to beat Pete's record right now this week, but I know that things are looking good for me.

"If I win Paris, there's obviously a very good chance I can also win Wimbledon, without underestimating any of the opponents, because they're all playing very well and they want to win the tournament here, as well."

In Nadal's absence, Federer will open proceedings on Centre Court tomorrow against Yen-Hsun Lu, and is now seeded to face Britain's Andy Murray in the final.

Murray is one of the few players with a winning record against Federer, leading their head-to-head clashes 6-2, including victory in their last four meetings.

"When it came down to the crunch we've played two times in finals, he played very well but I was able to beat him, prior to finals he's beaten me," Federer told BBC Radio Five Live's Sportsweek.

"I don't want to make excuses but he played me at a time when I had back problems (which) made it hard for me to call on my best performance level.

"He played me the right way and was very successful. He's a great tactician, I like to watch him play. He's a very tough challenge.

"I thought he handled the pressure very well last year. He also handled it in Queen's."

Murray comes into Wimbledon on the back of his first tournament victory on grass in the AEGON Championships at Queen's Club, and reached the quarter-finals here last year before losing to Nadal.

Federer added: "I know Queen's is not Wimbledon but I think he takes these things pretty relaxed.

"I think he's become such a good player now it's not going to affect him much and if it does it affects him in a good way."

2009-06-22T11:36:00.001-07:00

Santa Cruz signs for Man City

Roque Santa Cruz has completed his £17million move from Blackburn to Manchester City.

The Paraguayan passed a medical with the Eastlands outfit this afternoon and has now signed a deal to link up once more with Mark Hughes, his former manager at Blackburn.

Hughes has never made any secret of his desire to have Santa Cruz at City and having assured themselves the knee injury that kept the South American out at the end of last season has fully cleared up, the Blues have completed the signing of the striker.

Santa Cruz becomes Hughes' second major signing of the summer, following the arrival of Gareth Barry from Aston Villa last month.

Despite the improvement of Felipe Caicedo during the final few weeks of last season, City were desperately in need of a senior striker to bring the best out of Steven Ireland, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Robinho, who continues to be linked with Barcelona.

Having brought the 27-year-old from Bayern Munich during his Blackburn days, Hughes knew exactly what Santa Cruz could bring to him team and after missing out on the player during the last two transfer windows, was quick to make contact with Rovers counterpart Sam Allardyce with another offer, which this time was accepted.

Although he managed just four Premier League goals last term, the memory of his 23 in 43 appearances during his first season at Ewood Park is still strong and Santa Cruz is expected to clock up a third World Cup finals campaign with Paraguay next summer.

2009-06-22T11:31:00.001-07:00

Sharapova survives tricky opener

Maria Sharapova had to dig deep to overcome the challenge of Viktoriya Kutuzova in her opening-round clash on Court One.

Sharapova, plagued by shoulder problems over the last year, looked out of sorts as she held on to win 7-5 6-4.

Relieved by victory, she said: "It's so wonderful after not playing tennis for such a long time.

"To be on Court One at Wimbledon is unbelievable and I am so glad I pulled it out against a good opponent.

"She is a very aggressive player and I was just trying to hold on. The shoulder is really good. This is my fourth tournament back and my body has responded really well."

The former Wimbledon champion had her serve broken in the third game by her Ukrainian opponent, and then again in the fifth.

Kutuzova, an unseeded 20-year-old, has never been beyond the second round at SW19 and she squandered the chance to go 5-1 ahead when Sharapova broke in the sixth game.

Sharapova steadily began to take charge from that stage onwards and scrambled back to 5-5, before holding serve to move in front.

A superb passing forehand drive gave her three set points, and although her opponent managed to save two of them, Sharapova sent a superb backhand passing shot beyond Kutuzova to move ahead.

The Russian had struggled to win the opening set and lost her serve in the opening game of the second. However, Sharapova quickly broke back to level the scores at 1-1.

A cleverly executed drop shot left Kutuzova floundering as Sharapova edged ahead 3-2 and the tournament's 24th seed broke the Ukrainian's serve once more to race into a 4-2 lead.

Sharapova, now ranked 60th in the world, was clearly not at her best and that was underlined by Kutuzova's response. The 20-year-old broke back immediately to reduce the arrears.

An awkward fall by Sharapova did not affect her confidence and the 22-year-old took full advantage of the wavering Ukrainian who double-faulted for the fifth time in the match to trail by 5-3.

Sharapova served for the match but once again the plucky Kutuzova would not give in and broke her service to reduce the arrears once more.

But Sharapova forced the Ukrainian into more errors on serve and when she sent her final return into the net, the Russian clinched victory.

2009-06-22T00:05:00.001-07:00

How Gambhir came to Afridi's rescue

22 June 2009

Related Matches:

PAK vs SL, 21st Jun 2009

Lord's: Ajantha Mendis didn't take a wicket and Shahid Afridi never hit him for a boundary but the "demystifying" of the Sri Lankan spinner told greatly on his team's defeat in the finals of the ICC World Twenty20 here on Sunday.

Sri Lankan skipper Kumar Sangakkara conceded that Pakistan had played his "mystery spinner" too often in recent times and it had played into his opposition's hands. What he didn't know was that an Indian had also contributed hugely in Pakistan's quest to tackle Mendis.

Indian opener Gautam Gambhir and Shahid Afridi were lodged in the same hotel with their teams in central London in the second week of the competition when they caught up with each other over a dinner. Afridi had then inquired Gambhir, arguably one who has played Mendis best so far, on how to come to terms with the Sri Lankan spinner.

Afridi's questions were specific: how to spot when Mendis was bowling a googly or varying the degree of spin or when he was in "carom ball" delivery mode. Gambhir patiently shared all his knowledge with Afridi which must be kind of a news in itself as the world believed their was no love lost between the two cricketers. Afridi and Gambhir were involved in an ugly confrontation during a match of the 2006-07 series and the latter was even hauled up in front of the match-referee.

Well clearly much water has passed under the bridge since then and Gambhir was more than keen to help out Afridi. The mercurial Pakistani at that stage must not have known if his side would end up facing Sri Lanka again in the tournament. But his eagerness was just a reflection on how desperate Afridi was to succeed.

Gambhir's mantra was no different to what he has maintained all along. "I think it is important to pick him from his fingers because most of the variations which he does, he does from his fingers and it is important to pick him then."

On June 12, exactly nine days before the finals, Sri Lanka and Pakistan had faced each other in a Super Eight match at Lord's only. Afridi had then got out for nought, a victim of Muthiah Muralidharan's mastery. Pakistan had then lost by 19 runs.

Today it was Afridi's turn to get his even. He hit a half century and Pakistan won by eight wickets. In a strange way, there was enough for the newly crowned winners to thank an Indian.

Kobe's NBA Finals Top 5 Plays

2009-06-21T23:28:00.000-07:00

Checkout Kobe Bryant's top 5 plays during the NBA Finals.

Pakistan vs Sri Lanka, ICC World Twenty20, 2009 Final Match Highlights

2009-06-21T11:29:00.000-07:00

Pakistan vs Sri Lanka, ICC World Twenty20, 2009, Lord's, London. Sun, Jun 21 2009

Result: Pakistan won by 8 wickets Man of the Match: Shahid Afridi Man of the Series: Tillakaratne Dilshan

Highlights: Pak beat Lanka, win T20 World Cup!

Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by 8 wickets, win the \'ICC World Twenty20\' trophy. Watch second innings highlights.

http://cricket.yahoo.com/cricket/videos/fvideo/210609_SL_PAK_2inn_hl/3222

2009-06-21T11:03:00.000-07:00

Afridi the hero as Pakistan triumph

Greg Lansdowne, 21 June 2009

Related Matches:

PAK vs SL, 21st Jun 2009

The Lord's: Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by eight wickets to win the World Twenty20 Final at Lord's.

Shahid Afridi capped another fine all-round performance when he made 54 not out from 40 balls to follow 1-20 with the ball.

Sri Lanka had appeared to give themselves a fighting chance when they reached 138-6 having been 32-4 at one stage.

That was not to account for a highly professional batting effort in response as Pakistan got home with eight balls to spare.

Pakistan's reply got off to a contrasting start from their opponent as Kamran Akmal hammered Angelo Mathews's third ball through the covers for a boundary as eight were taken from the opening over.

Lasith Malinga immediately replaced Mathews at the Nursery End and he bowled a much tighter first over - conceding just one - as Pakistan were pegged back.

Isuru Udana's second over then tipped the balance in favour of the batting side as 14 were taken from it - though not all of the runs were scored convincingly.

That forced Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara to take the pace off the ball through spinners Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis.

Akmal greeted Mendis by depositing him over midwicket for six with the final now entering its pivotal phase.

The Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman carried on the attack to the Sri Lankan bowlers when he flicked Udana over midwicket for the second six of the innings.

With the situation reaching a critical position, the Sri Lankans made a belated breakthrough when Akmal's confidence got the better of him as he advanced down the track to Sanath Jayasuriya's first ball and was stumped for 37 (28 balls).

Pakistan continued to have the better of things against Mendis (who finished with 0-34) when his second over went for the 11 - including two perfectly timed boundaries by Shahzaib Hasan.

The opener was another to then suffer from a rush of blood when he top-edged a sweep off Muralitharan to short fine-leg at the start of the next over for 19.

Pakistan reached the halfway stage on 65-2, needing a further 74 from the last 10 overs.

Runs began to dry up - despite the presence of the big-hitting Afridi and Shoaib Malik at the crease - as the required rate hit eight for the first time at the start of the 13th over.

Clearly risks needed to be taken and Afridi was the right man for the moment - swinging Jayasuriya over midwicket for six and then cover-driving him for a boundary off the next ball.

Pakistan entered the last five overs on 103-2, needing another 36 from 30 balls.

With 19 runs needed from 14 balls, Afridi once again lifted the pressure on the batting side when he first swung Udana over midwicket for six and then tickled a no-ball to the leg-side boundary (bringing up his 50 off 37 balls in the process).

Just seven were then required off the last two overs and that equation was reduced to one from nine balls with Afridi fittingly on strike.

A leg bye was perhaps not the final flourish the batsman would have wished for but his joyous reaction at the end suggested he was not overly disappointed.

Afridi's partnership with Malik (24 not out) of 76 off 59 balls was an effort worthy of winning any one-day final.

Sri Lanka's earlier effort, after winning the toss, had centred around Sangakkara, who top-scored with 64 not out (off 52 balls) as the batting side recovered well following a disastrous start to their innings.

Mohammad Aamer opened up at the Pavilion End with a menacing wicket maiden, peppering Tillakaratne Dilshan with a succession of short-pitched deliveries before removing him off the fifth ball.

The right-hander attempted a pull but could only find Shahzaib at short fine-leg, who took a comfortable catch.

Disaster struck again for the Sri Lankans in the second over when Jehan Mubarak, elevated up the order, was removed by Abdul Razzaq for a second-ball duck. The left-hander got a leading edge, as he looked to work the ball to leg, and skied a second catch to Shahzaib, this time in the extra cover position.

Aamer didn't concede a run until his ninth ball, but then two boundaries came off successive deliveries from the bat of Sangakkara.

Jayasuriya struck the first six of the innings when he pulled Razzaq over midwicket at the start of the fourth over.

Razzaq got ample revenge off the fifth ball of the over, however, when Jayasuriya (17) edged a cut-shot onto his stumps.

Mahela Jayawardena (1) became Razzaq's third victim when he steered the ball into the hands of Misbah-ul-Haq standing in a second slip position.

Sri Lanka ended the Powerplay on a lamentable 34-4.

There was no let-up from Pakistan as that heralded the entry of spin duo Afridi and Saeed Ajmal into the attack - both among the seven leading wicket-takers in the tournament going into the final.

Malik replaced Ajmal at the Nursery End for the 10th over, at which point Chamara Silva swept the off-spinner for a boundary to bring up the 50.

Umar Gul then, in turn, replaced Malik as the anticipated arrival of the seamer was delayed no more. As has become a common theme, Gul's impact was instant as he removed Silva (14) with his third legitimate delivery when the batsman pulled tamely to midwicket.

Afridi continued the rout when he bowled Udana with a googly for one.

Sri Lanka went into the last five overs on 79-6 - with Sangakkara their last hope of posting a defendable total.

The left-hander brought up his half-century (44 balls) with a flick off his legs to the boundary that just evaded the leap of Shazaib at midwicket.

Sangakkara was assisted by Mathews (35 not out off 24 balls) in a stand of 68 for the sixth-wicket as 59 were accumulated from the last five overs to give Sri Lanka some hope with their potent bowling attack now required to pull one last rabbit out of the hat.

Alas, for them, it was not to be as Pakistan claim a victory that will not only constitute ample consolation for losing the inaugural World Twenty20 Final, in 2007, but also salvage some lost pride to a nation ravaged by recent terrorist attacks.

Now the world thinks of cricket when it thinks of Pakistan.

Icc Twenty20 2009 Women World cup Final match Highlights

2009-06-21T10:38:00.000-07:00

New Zealand Women vs England Women, ICC Women's World Twenty20, 2009, Lord's, London. Sun, Jun 21 2009

Result: England Women won by 6 wickets Man of the Match: Katherine Brunt Man of the Series: Claire Taylor

See the Highlights of the match & England winnig movements
(http://cricket.yahoo.com/cricket/videos/fvideo/210609_ENG_NZ_2inn_wkts_hl/936)

Sri Lanka vs West Indies, ICC World Twenty20, 2009, Second semifinal photos

2009-06-20T01:04:00.000-07:00

Sri Lanka vs West Indies, ICC World Twenty20, 2009,
Kennington Oval (The Oval), London. Fri, Jun 19 2009 Second semifinal match

Result: Sri Lanka won by 57 runs Man of the Match: Tillakaratne Dilshan
To see the Hilights photos click here

http://cricket.yahoo.com/photos/Lankans-wary-of-Caribbean-calypso_12454047405657

Twenty20 2009 1st semifinal South Africa Vs Pakistan Photos

2009-06-19T06:30:00.000-07:00

Pakistan Won the match...

See the Hilight photos Here

http://cricket.yahoo.com/photos/Semi-finals-South-Africa-Vs-Pakistan_12453498364794

ICC Womes/'s World cup Twenty20 semifinal Videos

2009-06-18T09:00:00.000-07:00

Highlights: NZ beat India by 52 runs New Zealand beat India by 52 runs in the semifinals of the ICC Women\'s World Twenty20. Watch the highlights of Indian innings. 180609_IND_NZ_2inn_hl 180609_IND_NZ_PoM,180609_IND_NZ_6s_package,180609_IND_NZ_2inn_

Yahoo! Cricket - Video page

(http://cricket.yahoo.com/cricket/videos/fvideo/180609_IND_NZ_2inn_hl/934)

Super8 Match Srilanka Vs New Zealand Photos

2009-06-18T08:24:00.000-07:00

Lasith Malinga of Sri Lanka celebrates with his team mates after taking the wicket of Aaron Redmond of New Zealand during the ICC World Twenty20 Super Eights match between New Zealand and Sri Lanka at Trent Bridge on June 16, 2009 in Nottingham, England (Getty Images)

Super Eights Match 11 : New Zealand Vs Sri Lanka | Cricket Match Photos - Yahoo! India Cricket

To see the Highlights Photos click below link

http://cricket.yahoo.com/photos/Super-Eights-Match-11-New-Zealand-Vs-Sri-Lanka_12451658418480

Cricket photos

2009-06-17T03:17:00.000-07:00

To view the latest cricket photos then click here:

http://cricket.yahoo.com/photos/Ten-Reasons-Why-Team-India-crashed-out_12452178341726

Why the Defending Champs got knocked out

2009-06-16T00:00:00.000-07:00

Why the Defending Champs got knocked out

Team India is out of the 2009 Twenty20 World Championship after consecutive defeats against the West Indies and England. It was the first time the Men in Blue were really tested in the tournament and they didn’t look up to scratch.

So what went wrong for the Indians in the Super 8 stage? For one, they got off to poor starts with bat and ball, and ended up playing catch up for the rest of the innings. The Quick Start batting and bowling numbers show that India was outplayed in the first six overs of every innings.

Matchwise Performance by India in the Super 8s.

Teams	QS Bat	QS Bowl
India	18.5	15
West Indies	45	41.5

Teams	QS Bat	QS Bowl
India	24.8	1.5
England	58.5	35.3

In particular, the batting at the top of the order did not live up to expectations. Ravindra Jadeja’s laboured 35-ball innings has been spoken about a lot and his knock was hugely responsible for India’s defeat. But the rest of the top order didn’t fire either- Gambhir, Rohit Sharma and Raina were outperformed by their counterparts in the Super 8s.

Batting Momentum scores based on Ind-WI and Ind-Eng matches

Player	Batting Momentum
Gautam Gambhir	20.5
Rohit Sharma	9.2
Suresh Raina	2.0

Top 3 Batsman total

Team	Batting Momentum
England	115.5
West Indies	69.6
India	31.7

India didn’t do a great job in the field either- there were plenty of misfields and dropped catches. Not surprisingly, quite a few Indian players ended up with negative fielding points for their efforts.

Fielding points based on Ind-WI and Ind-Eng matches

Player	Fielding Points
Mahendra Singh Dhoni	-23
Harbhajan Singh	-17
Yusuf Pathan	-10
Zaheer Khan	-4

In the end, the team didn’t play to potential and not everyone played their role- which meant there was too much responsibility on the likes of Yuvraj Singh. And that’s why we will see a new champion crowned at this year’s T20 World Championship.

Widget

2009-06-15T23:48:00.001-07:00