CRICKET INFO

India canter to another comprehensive win India v England,2011

noreply@blogger.com (emraan473) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 05:29:00 +0000

England's weakness against spin cost them for the third time in the series as they unravelled from a strong position to post an underwhelming total on a slow turning pitch in Mumbai. Their fast bowlers struck three early blows but Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina motored to a 131-run stand at close to seven an over, showcasing the difference between the sides and sparking another needless bout of words in the middle as England's frustration overflowed.

It was England's own batsmen who had let down their ragged bowlers down when they caved in against spin in the afternoon. R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja took 5 for 79 in 20 overs between them after Jonathan Trott and Kevin Pietersen had built on England's quickest start of the series.

Vinay Kumar broke the 73-run stand between Trott and an uncharacteristically subdued Pietersen, then Jadeja and Ashwin worked their way through a clueless England middle order, striking three times in six overs. Tim Bresnan took the score past 200 with a run-a-ball 45, but England were dismissed with 23 deliveries remaining when fast bowler Varun Aaron bowled Bresnan to finish with three wickets on debut.

Disciplined pace bowling led by the impressive Steven Finn kept England in with an outside chance at the start of the chase. Kohli and Raina kept the runs coming, though, not allowing the score of 46 for 3 to tie them down in a partnership that steadily at first, and then emphatically, pushed England out of the match, making a 5-0 whitewash ever more likely.

Finn and Bresnan had started with testing spells that kept the India openers quiet. The first five overs produced only 17 runs, leading Parthiv Patel to whip across the line and lose his stumps to Finn. Finn struck again in his next over when Gautam Gambhir inside-edged onto his stumps. His opening spell of 5-0-10-2 was followed by a sharp burst from debutant Stuart Meaker that induced Ajinkya Rahane into a poke outside off stump only for wicketkeeper Craig Kieswetter to take a leaping one-handed blinder.

Scott Borthwick, the young legspinner surprisingly chosen ahead of Grame Swann, bowled with heart, but it was unfair to expect him to have the same effect that the experienced Swann could have managed. Kohli and Raina continued almost unbothered, picking off the singles easily and finding the boundaries with crisp shots. The duo's approach was in sharp contrast to England's tottering line-up.

Despite India being three down at the start of the bowling Powerplay, Raina took the chance and chipped Meaker just over mid-off for a boundary. His innings grew into a blur of scythes through extra cover and swings down the ground before Finn bowled him after a missed slog during a heated over. Raina had surged to 80 by then and with Kohli easing into elegant drives and cuts, India were runaway winners with almost ten overs remaining.

England's fate had virtually been sealed when their middle order tried to sweep and slog-sweep their way out of trouble. Pietersen was one of three batsmen to fall on the shots, though the substitute fielder Manoj Tiwary was responsible for sending him back with a diving catch after running across from deep midwicket.

Ravi Bopara missed one from Jadeja to be caught in front and Jonny Bairstow's disappointing series continued when he was bowled by a ripper that pitched on leg and turned to hit off stump. Samit Patel and Bresnan tried to salvage something from 145 for 6 but Patel slog-swept Ashwin straight to deep midwicket in another disappointing batting Powerplay for England.

Aaron, who had consistently hovered above 140kph on debut, came back to run through the lower order, hitting the stumps three times, the last of which straightened past Bresnan's outside edge to clip the top of off, with England well short of a challenging total on a turning pitch without Swann.

Things hadn't looked as gloomy for England when Pietersen and Trott accumulated solidly in a steady partnership that helped them recover after Alastair Cook and Kieswetter departed off successive deliveries. Though Pietersen went hard at deliveries and mistimed his strokes at times, Trott kept the runs flowing, cutting Jadeja three times to the deep point boundary. Trott welcomed Vinay's second spell with a cracking drive that beat the cover sweeper easily but was dismissed two deliveries later. Pietersen continued to find the field and the India spinners soon got on top decisively, yet again.

Wet outfield ruins day three as well.. Bangladesh v West Indies, 2011

noreply@blogger.com (emraan473) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 05:27:00 +0000

South Africa regained parity in the ODI series against Australia - and valuable equilibrium after an extended break from international cricket - with a resounding 80-run victory in the second match at St George's Park.

Where the hosts had looked out of sorts with the bat and rusty in the field at Centurion, they now clambered all over a touring side that was both inconvenienced and worried by a back complaint for the vice-captain Shane Watson, on his return to the team from a hip injury. Watson staggered off the field after wincing in pain upon the delivery of the fifth ball of his fourth over and must now be in doubt for the deciding third match in Durban despite batting later.

His absence in the field was keenly felt as South Africa ran up an imposing 303 for 6 via sizeable contributions from Jacques Kallis, Graeme Smith, David Miller and JP Duminy. All the Australian pacemen were taken for runs, Pat Cummins delivering one maiden but otherwise finding the going harder than at any stage so far in his infant international career.

The tourists' chase lacked the required authority from the moment Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke were dismissed cheaply, as Morne Morkel collected a richly-deserved 4 for 22 on a pitch that slowed across the course of the match.

Ponting opened in Watson's place, and struck two boundaries in six balls before he presented a low catch to the covers from the bowling of Lonwabo Tsotsobe. Clarke snicked a nicely pitched Morkel delivery to slip and at 37 for 2 the innings was set on an unsteady path towards 223 all out.

Hashim Amla was earlier out to the first ball of a match South Africa must win to keep the series open, but Kallis and Smith wrested the initiative with a stand of 142, and Miller played with plenty of energy and power in the company of the more taciturn Duminy to ensure a mid-innings wobble did not compound.

Australia's greatest problems had appeared the search for wickets on a slow and placid pitch, but Watson added significantly them when he grimaced and clutched at his back.

He immediately departed for the dressing room and the attention of the team physio Alex Kountouris, leaving Clarke to finish the over. Watson, recovered from a hip complaint, had been named to replace the promising allrounder Mitchell Marsh, whose brother Shaun Marsh remained on the sidelines with a shoulder problem.

The early wickets of Ponting and Clarke placed Australia in perilous territory, forcing David Warner to rein in some of his more aggressive tendencies while Michael Hussey played with typical modulation. Both were reprieved, Warner dropped badly at mid on by Amla when 26, while Hussey survived lookalike stumping chances on 14 and 36, Mark Boucher failing to gather deliveries that slid between bat and pad.

They added 71, the only substantial union of the innings, but Hussey was run out as the required run-rate climbed and Warner miscued an attempted pull shot to grant Boucher a swirling catch. Watson managed one rasping six when he belatedly came in to bat, but was caught in the deep off Tsotsobe as the equation slipped out of reach and the crowd was allowed a period of prolonged celebration.

Steve Smith offered a minor rearguard but his lack of boundaries was a neat encapsulation of the Australian struggle for momentum on a sluggish surface.

Kallis and Smith had earlier showed plenty of vigour to stall an Australian bowling attack that was laughing when Amla, the hosts' stand-in captain, had played too early at the first ball of the day and popped a return catch to Doug Bollinger.

The wicket showed that the pitch was far easier-paced than Centurion's and, in the absence of much new ball swing for Bollinger or Mitchell Johnson, Kallis and Smith made progress that was initially measured before accelerating visibly.

Smith, not in the best of touch before this innings, unleashed a string of strokes through the offside that contradicted his reputation as a bottom-hand dragger to leg. With each drive, Smith regathered a little more confidence, helped along by Kallis' instant show of confidence upon replacing Amla. In the second over Kallis hooked fearlessly at Johnson and cleared the fence, and he continued in that vein.

Smith departed via a video referral when he attempted to reverse sweep Steve Smith and could only glove a catch to Haddin, while Kallis took on Clarke's sharp left arm and was nearly a metre short when the stumps went down.

Faf du Plessis wandered down the wicket to be stumped in the midst of a fine spell by Xavier Doherty, but Miller showed his intent second ball by plonking Smith beyond long off for six, and he kept it up while Duminy played himself back towards form after an indifferent start to the series.

Miller's departure was the signal for Duminy to take up the role of aggressor, and he did so with a pair of towering sixes from the bowling of Cummins, who had dismissed him in each of their previous three encounters on this tour.

Wet outfield ruins day three as well.. Bangladesh v West Indies, 2011

noreply@blogger.com (emraan473) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 05:25:00 +0000

Overnight rain ruined any prospects of cricket on the third day as well in Chittagong, and the umpires abandoned the day's play around 90 minutes after the scheduled start. The entire ground was under covers in the morning and though the rain had relented, enough water had seeped through to leave wet patches around the field. Though the sun did break out, it wasn't hot and bright enough, nor was there enough wind, to ensure the ground dried up in time to get some play in. Played was called off on day two under overcast skies; today, there was some sunlight. Whether it's undermined by more rain remains to be seen.

Series at stake for rusty hosts South Africa v Australia, 2011

noreply@blogger.com (emraan473) — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 07:10:00 +0000

Rain did not help, but South Africa were caught very much on the hop by Australia in the first ODI at Centurion. After Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke stood up to some strong early bowling in a manner that allowed Duckworth-Lewis to work heavily in the tourists' favour, Doug Bollinger, Mitchell Johnson, Pat Cummins and Xavier Doherty had their way with the ball against some indifferent batting in greasy conditions.

Having had a six-month break from international cricket, South Africa will be better for the run and will not be making too many changes to the team.

However they must win at St George's Park in order to stay in the series, being played over a tightly-squeezed three fixtures much as the Test series was chopped back to two matches by the financial weight of the Champions League Twenty20.

Australia, by contrast, will simply want to keep up the impressive momentum built first in Sri Lanka then added to in Pretoria. Clarke is marshalling a unit that gathers confidence with each match, so much so that the visitors did not seem too badly off without the injured duo of Shaun Marsh and Shane Watson in the first match. Their returns would only strengthen a team that has also been enthused by the rapid progress of the teenagers Pat Cummins and Mitchell Marsh.

England seek consolation in heated series India v England, 2011-2012

noreply@blogger.com (emraan473) — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 07:09:00 +0000

The magnitude of their failure in England means a simple series-win may not be enough to grant it. The fans want an emphatic scoreline.

There could hardly be a better place for India to underline their recovery from the disastrous summer tour. Though it seems like it has been an eternity since, it was only six-and-a-half months ago that Mumbai witnessed one of India's biggest wins.

But England have had a couple of special moments in ODIs at the Wankhede Stadium too: back in 1987 they beat India to go through to the World Cup final, and in 2002, Andrew Flintoff famously ripped his shirt off and did a victory-lap around the ground after bowling England to a series-levelling five-run win.

Since then England have lost 13 of 14 completed one-day internationals in bilateral series in India, and the frustration is beginning to show in the body-language of their players. There have been a few verbal confrontations between the players during this series, and Tim Bresnan was fined for snatching his cap from the umpire in the third ODI. Andy Flower, the England team director, has defended his team's attitude but will know a win is the only tonic for some hurt egos.

In order to achieve that, though, England need to accept certain realities of playing India in India, the first of which is that scores of 300, while winning totals in other countries, are often just par for the course on Indian pitches. After the Mohali ODI, Alastair Cook, the England captain, said their score of 298 was defendable, a statement made mainly to justify Jonathan Trott's innings of 98 not out from 116 balls, considered too slow by some. Cook would do well to listen to what Kumar Sangakkara, a man who knows all about playing against India in their home conditions, said after the World Cup final: "Anything less than 350 is not safe against India."

Aiming higher does not necessarily mean having to drop Trott, but it does mean that pretty much no-one else can afford to score at less than a run-a-ball. A series strike-rate of 84.31 from someone like Craig Kieswetter, in the side to provide rapid starts, simply won't cut it.

Sangakkara, Prasanna Jayawardene earn draw for SL 2011 newz

noreply@blogger.com (emraan473) — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 07:07:00 +0000

Sri Lanka 197 (Mathews 52*, Junaid 5-38) and 483 (Sangakkara 211, P Jayawardene 120, Gul 4-64) drew with Pakistan 511 for 6 dec (Taufeeq 236, Hafeez 75, Ali 70) and 21 for 1

Sangakkara and Jayawardene defied Pakistan for six hours, batting almost till tea on the final day to earn a draw for Sri Lanka. After losing five wickets on the fourth evening while still needing 81 runs to make Pakistan bat again, Sri Lanka benefited from six dropped chances in the second innings. Pakistan's bowlers toiled as much as the heat allowed them to, but their effectiveness was blunted by an unyielding pitch, abysmal catching and resolute batting. Both Sangakkara and Jayawardene achieved personal landmarks, with the former reaching his eighth Test double-century, putting him behind only Don Bradman and Brian Lara.

The sixth-wicket partnership between Sangakkara and Jayawardene - easily the highest for Sri Lanka against Pakistan - ate away whatever advantage remained with Pakistan after yesterday's five dropped chances. Azhar Ali finally ended Pakistan's despair after 73 fruitless overs, trapping Sangakkara leg-before with a legbreak just before tea. Aizaz Cheema had Jayawardene caught behind with the third new ball but it was too late to make up for the largesse of all those missed chances in a match affected by some average umpiring from Tony Hill. Umar Gul cleaned up the tail, leaving Pakistan an improbable 170 to get in 21 overs.

Pakistan's top order did not give the slightest impression of going for it, and the game was called off after ten rather pointless overs as Tillakaratne Dilshan let the game meander beyond the start of the final hour.

Sri Lanka could afford to indulge in such psychological banter after Sangakkara and Jayawardene had carried them to safety, the slowness of the pitch allowing them to defend without much trouble. Sangakkara - who had looked near-immoveable after a couple of reprieves yesterday - allowed Jayawardene to take charge, but still put the loose ones away, reaching 200 with a nudge to the fine leg boundary off Cheema in the 143rd over. Jayawardene lofted Ajmal for a straight boundary in the 148th over to bring up a potentially match-saving century after having got a duck in the first innings. Not at any stage did they show even a hint of getting bogged down, unlike batsmen from both teams in the first innings.

Jayawardene, dropped by Wahab Riaz on 11 last evening, was much more positive today, breaking free with a swept boundary when Saeed Ajmal tried to tie him down early with two fielders around square leg. A tiring Junaid Khan - who had kept charging in with energy and going past the outside edge - was pulled emphatically over midwicket.

Pakistan's frustration slowly turned into resignation, a shame given the way they dominated this game for four days, apart from their fielding, which ruined the untiring efforts of their bowlers in the end. As in the first innings, Cheema epitomised Pakistan's willingness to give it everything on a pitch which held up so well in the heat, it could have been good for five more days.

An over from Cheema, the 137th of the innings, told Pakistan's tale of luckless perseverance. After four testing deliveries, Cheema bowled a loopy slow delivery that completely befuddled Jayawardene outside off stump. A ripping reverse-swinging yorker followed but Jayawardene somehow managed to dig it out, almost falling over. The unwavering Cheema was back in his next over with another slower ball followed by another accurate yorker, only to be denied without fuss by Jayawardene. This after Cheema had been denied by umpire Tony Hill after hitting Jayawardene on the pads right after lunch.

Azhar's unexpected strike at the stroke of tea brought relief for Pakistan and they eventually got through the tail with the third new ball but not before Rangana Herath had been grassed by Gul at extra cover, the sixth drop of the innings. Herath stretched the innings till 168 overs, leaving Pakistan to rue their generosity on the field and in hindsight, their cautious approach with the bat in the first innings.

Resolute Taufeeq builds Pakistan's lead Pakistan v Sri Lanka, newz 2011

noreply@blogger.com (emraan473) — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 08:28:00 +0000

Lunch Pakistan 336 for 2 (Taufeeq 144*, Younis 27*, Hafeez 75, Azhar 70) lead Sri Lanka 197 by 139 runs

Pakistan's batsmen continued to favour growth by continuous additions on the third morning, having set their sights on earning a substantial lead regardless of how much time it took. A lively spell of left-arm swing bowling by Chanaka Welegedara accounted for Azhar Ali, who, for the tenth time, failed to convert a half-century into a Test hundred.

That was the only bit of joy that came Sri Lanka's way as Taufeeq Umar's seventh successive session on the field did not bring any change in the patient approach that has now brought him two centuries in three Tests. He pushed Pakistan's lead towards 150 without taking any risks along with Younis Khan, who, when on 16, benefited from a dropped catch by Prasanna Jayawardene off Tillakaratne Dilshan.

Apart from that, and a couple of edges and mishits that didn't carry to the fielders, it was another session that belonged to Pakistan, though they were once again did not really dominating when they should have.

Welegedara gave Sri Lanka some relief with a ripping inswinger to uproot Azhar's off stump in the seventh over of the day. Taufeeq and Younis ensured that the relief was only temporary with a resolute half-century stand that had a sense of inevitability to it, both in the manner it came, and with the promise it carried.

Taibu back, Oram ill, Zimbabwe bat...Zimbabwe v New Zealand 2011 newz

noreply@blogger.com (emraan473) — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 08:25:00 +0000

New Zealand's :

in-form opening pair of Brendon McCullum and Martin Guptill were left waiting for their chance at the crease after Zimbabwe decided to take first strike in the first ODI in Harare. Jacob Oram picked up an illness in the lead-up to the game, which meant allrounder Doug Bracewell got his first ODI cap. Rob Nicol also made his ODI debut in the middle order.

Brendan Taylor:

Believed the dry and grassless pitch would aid batsmen early and spinners later in the day. Zimbabwe were bolstered by the return of opener Vusi Sibanda and wicketkeeper Tatenda Taibu, both of whom were unavailable for the Twenty20 series. Chris Mpofu, who was off-colour in the second Twenty20, retained his spot in the XI ahead of Keegan Meth.

New Zealand:

1 Martin Guptill, 2 Brendon McCullum (wk), 3 Jesse Ryder 4, Ross Taylor (capt), 5 Kane Williamson, 6 Rob Nicol, 7 James Franklin, 8 Nathan McCullum, 9 Doug Bracewell, 10 Kyle Mills, 11 Andy McKay

Zimbabwe:

1 Chamu Chibhabha , 2 Vusi Sibanda, Hamilton Masakadza, 4 Brendan Taylor (capt), 5 Tatenda Taibu (wk), 6 Forster Mutizwa, 7 Elton Chigumbura, 8 Prosper Utseya, 9 Ray Price, 10 Kyle Jarvis, 11 Chris Mpofu

England struggling to stay afloat in series 2011 India v England, newz

noreply@blogger.com (emraan473) — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 08:23:00 +0000

The contemptuous dominance that England enjoyed in their home Test series against India is now being reprised in reverse in their one-day tour against the same opponents.

England's opening two ODIs in Hyderabad and Delhi resulted in two crushing defeats, and unless they can stop the rot at the third time of asking in Mohali, they will have squandered the series with two games to play. It's hard to envisage any such transformation taking place, however. With one victory in their last 15 ODIs in India - and none since April 2006 - England have been in this position before, and have yet to work out an escape route.

India are a much-changed team from the outfit that won the World Cup back in April, but in their first home campaign since that momentous achievement, they have tapped into the same well of confidence. England faced trial by spin in the first game, and trial by seam in the second, and while their batsmen faltered on each occasion, India's have gone from strength to strength.

From MS Dhoni's blistering assault in the final 16 overs of the first match, to Virat Kohli's crushing double-century partnership with Gautam Gambhir in the second, the defining feature of India's performances to date has been the fluidity of their run-scoring. Whereas England's innings have been staccato at best, with occasional boundary shots punctuated by long periods of failed strike rotation, India's ability to create gaps in the field has been nigh on impossible to match, and even harder to stop.

In that regard, the absence of Eoin Morgan has been critical for England. His nominal replacement, Jonny Bairstow, hits a long ball given half a chance, as demonstrated on debut at Cardiff last month, but he has yet to learn the versatility required to dominate on Indian pitches. He's not alone in that regard. Craig Kieswetter has managed one boundary and seven runs in 13 balls so far, and while Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott have looked at ease in the conditions when they've got in, neither man has been able to put pedal to metal in the manner of their India counterparts.

England's problems :

Extend to their bowling attack as well. Steven Finn and Tim Bresnan have impressed in an individual capacity, even though their figures hardly reflect their efforts, but Jade Dernbach's variations have been collared, while Samit Patel has struggled as a spin-bowling allrounder. Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin and even Kohli's leg-rollers have all proven more effective. It will take a considerable swing in fortunes for England to prove greater than the sum of India's parts in the coming contests...