India Keep Nerve to Clinch a Nail Biter against Bangladesh

India Vs Bangladesh – Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore, 23rd March 2016 - ICC WT20 Match Review

India Defeat Bangladesh by 1 Run

It was a must win for both India and Bangladesh. The ground was packed to the rafters and there was a smattering of green amidst the sea of blue at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore. The pitch was expected to be a batting beauty and the stage was all set for an important clash between India and its noisy neighbours.

Bangladesh won the toss and inserted India in to bat first, Tamim was back for them too providing a huge boost to their batting department. India started slowly as Mashrafe rotated his bowlers cleverly in the opening 6 power play overs. India lost Rohit Sharma off the last ball of the 6th over to Mustafizur after two sixes had been stuck in that over – one by each opener. Shakib trapped Dhawan leg before in the very next over to put the skids on further.

Raina, played his initial few balls like he has done in the recent past – struggling for timing and jumping and prodding all over the place. Kohli, on the other hand was just looking for singles at this stage. Raina slugged a couple of sixes in the 11th over to inject some momentum in the Indian innings but Shakib and Mashrafe bowled two quiet overs to pull things back. It was a cat and mouse game, the pitch was slower than expected and the ball was not coming on to the bat nicely.

In the 14th over bowled by Shuvagata Hom, Kohli hit a flat six but was bowled trying to repeat the dose again and India were in a spot of bother as Dhoni promoted Pandya up the order to up the sagging run rate. Pandya clattered a huge six off his second delivery and creamed Shakib – their best bowler on view for two boundaries in the very next over.

But Al-Amin Hossain returned to first pick Raina as he mistimed another slog to mid-wicket before Soumya Sarkar took a blinder to dismiss Hardik Pandya – he intercepted a full blooded pull shot by diving full length at deep mid wicket and picked up the catch with both hands. Yuvraj continued to look clueless in his short stay while Dhoni, Jadeja and Ashwin all tried to hit out without much success as India posted 146/7 in their 20 overs.

Bangladesh got a boundary off the first ball as Bumrah mis-fielded a ball at fine leg before Nehra dropped Tamim off his own bowling. Ashwin came in to the attack in the 3rd over and stuck immediately – getting Mithun out caught at long on by an elated Pandya. Bumrah was having a shocker in the field as he dropped a dolly to reprieve Tamim off the bowling of Ashwin. Tamim punished the young Indian pacer by hitting 4 boundaries in his next over as he wilted under the pressure. At the other hand Sabbir Rahman was also playing some delectable shots, he had hit a huge six off Ashwin which almost went in the second tier! Bangladesh at 45/1 after an action packed 6 overs.

Jadeja came in the 8th over and removed the dangerous Tamim getting him stumped as he charged down the pitch. India then had a moment of luck as Sabbir was out stumped as Dhoni disturbed the bails just at the correct time – Sabbir’s feet had lifted momentarily and it was exactly at the same time that Dhoni took the bails off. Mashrafe decided to promote himself up the order and just like Pandya he too clobbered a six off the second delivery that he faced. Ashwin dropped Shakib in the meanwhile as Pandya gave away 20 off his first two overs.

Jadeja returned to snare Mashrafe in the 12th over before Ashwin got rid of the dangerous Shakib in his final over to jolt the Bangla run chase. At the end of 13 overs Bangladesh required 51 off 42 balls with 5 wickets in hand. Sarkar and Mahmudullah were at the crease. Both the teams played sensibly after that as Bangladesh looked to collect the singles while India were happy with the increasing runs required and balls remaining equation.

It came down to the final over bowled by Hardik Pandya as Bangladesh required 11 to win and 10 to take the match in the super over. Mahmudullah got a single off the first ball and Mushfiqur then smashed two 4’s in two balls to bring the equation down to a simple 2 off 3 balls for Bangladesh. It was this precise moment that Bangladesh, instead of playing with a calm head and looking for a single went berserk. Mushfiqur was out off the fourth delivery pulling the ball in the air and was easily caught by Dhawan in the deep. The cool Mahmudullah then commited a blunder by hitting a juicy full toss towards Jadeja in the deep who does not drop many and he accepted the gift with glee. When Shuvagata Hom could not lay bat to ball off the final delivery and Dhoni ran out Mustafizur as the batsmen scrambled to steal a bye, the crowd erupted and the ICC WT20 2016 had seen its first nail biter!!

Kohli Masterclass Saves India after Amir Opening Burst

India Vs Pakistan - Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur, 27th February 2016 - Asia Cup Match Review

India Beat Pakistan by 5 Wickets with 27 Balls to Spare

The match was being held in Mirpur, Dhaka but cricket fans had thronged to the stadium hours before the match to catch the ‘Mother of All Battles’ take place between arch rivals India and Pakistan in the T20I clash in the Asia Cup 2016. MS Dhoni won the toss and elected to bowl first on another green pitch. Dhawan missed out due to a niggle while Pakistan were going in with 4 fast bowlers – Amir, Irfan, Sami and Wahab.

It was clearly to be a battle between the strong Indian batting line up and the fearsome 4 pronged Pakistani pace battery. Pakistan needed a score around 120-130 to be in with a shout on a pitch that has afforded much help to the faster bowlers. Hafeez hit a lovely square drive in the first over but Nehra scalped him on the 4th ball of the first over; the ball bouncing more than expected and took the glove.

Sharjeel Khan and Khurram Manzoor looked to be getting in to a bit of a groove when Bumrah got a slower delivery to bounce more and Sharjeel guided the ball to Rahane standing at a widish slip. Manzoor was then run out when Malik sold him a dummy, Kohli hitting the bulls eye! Malik himself departed in the very next over chasing a wide one off Hardik Pandya. When Yuvraj got Umar Akmal off the very first ball of his spell, Pakistan were tottering at 35-5 in the 8th over.  Afridi was run out off the last ball of the same Yuvi over when he tried to steal a second after hitting the ball to deep mid-wicket but a laser accurate throw at the top of the stumps by Jadeja meant that even a sprawling dive was not enough to save him.

Pakistan were in a real mess and although Sarfaraz kept them in a hunt with a 25 off 24 balls but that was never going to pose a major problem. Pakistan was bundled out for just 83 runs in 17.3 overs with Pandya taking 3 wickets. Ashwin went wicket-less in his 3 overs giving away 21 runs, the costliest of the Indian bowlers!

Going in to the break, everybody would have thought that this will be a cake walk for Team India but Mohammad Amir had different ideas. He bowled a toe crushing, in swinging yorker first up that hit Rohit flush but he survived a close leg before shout. The very next ball slanted across Rohit but curled back in at the last moment after pitching on a good length and after missing his inside edge hit him on the pads again. The umpire had no hesitation this time and Rohit departed for a duck. After Kohli got an edgy single down to third man, Rahane faced up to a fired up Amir and got another cracking in coming delivery that caught him right in front of his stumps and he too departed without troubling the scorers! India 2-2 after 1 and the match was on!!

Raina hopped around helplessly bur Amir put him out of his misery in his second over, Raina offering a tame scoop to Wahab stationed at mid-on. Kohli, at this point absorbed all the pressure and all that was thrown at him with an intense show of concentration and skill while Yuvraj struggled to lay bat to ball at the other end as he looked completely at sea against the moving ball. Virat plundered 15 off the 9th over bowled by Wahab and it was at this point that the match seemed to be in India’s grasp finally. Sami landed two more blows to India getting Kohli leg before to a fortuitous decision and Pandya caught in the slip by Hafeez for a duck but Dhoni ended it with a thumping boundary to set off wild celebrations among the Indian supporters all across the globe!!

It will be an engrossing duel in the ICC WT20 2016 at Dharamshala where the ball will certainly do a bit at the high altitude and with the picturesque snow clad mountains providing the backdrop I am eagerly awaiting Kohli Vs Amir lip smacking battle to resume!!

Fantastico McCullum Slams the Fastest Test 100 in his Final Test!!

Some men write their own destiny, end their careers on a high. Not many sportsmen can time it perfectly and almost every great hero lives just long enough to become a villain. Bradman needed just four in his last test innings to finish with a test average of 100, he made a duck. Javed Miandad and Aravinda De Silva, arguably the finest batsman their countries had produced, played their last matches in the World Cup in 1996 and 2003 respectively, both ending on the losing side and going out in anonymity.

This was Brendon McCullum's last match, his 101st and he walked in to bat with New Zealand in huge trouble at 32-3 in the 20th over. His successor, and master batsman, Kane Williamson was struggling to even properly lay bat on ball on a green pitch - he was on 3 off 44 balls when Baz walked out to a guard of honour given by the Aussie's.

McCullum heaved wildly off his first ball and missed and on the second attempt the ball flew over the slips for a fortunate boundary. This looked like it would end very quickly. When Smith called upon Marsh just minutes before the lunch break, McCullum launched a vicious attack on the bowler. A straight six, cuts, cover drives and to round off another gob smacking six over wide extra cover to take 21 off the over! Easy-Peasy!!

He slashed at a wide Pattinson delivery and Marsh flung himself to take a stunner but Pattinson had overstepped, Baz reprieved on 39. That was probably the break that he needed and the mood that he was in, his shots only got bolder and more outrageous! He brought up his fifty off 34 balls with a heave down the ground that flew over Bird's head for a straight six. McCullum was by now an almost unstoppable force, playing a high impact innings in his last test.

He kept swinging his willow like a madman but kept evading the fielder's. He brought up his 100 of just 54 balls, the fastest ever, with a four over extra cover and raised his bat to a standing ovation from the crowd at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch. He beat the record set by the enigmatic Viv Richards in 1985-86 against England off 56 balls and which was then equalled by Misbah ul Haq against the Australian's in 2014.

He eventually finished on 145 off just 79 balls and his 179 run partnership with Corey Anderson waltzed New Zealand to 370 in just 65 overs on a green top where the ball swung extravagantly but a determined batsman in his last test swung his willow more decisively in the end.

His cavalier approach and thrill-a-minute style will be sorely missed and one can only wonder why he did not choose to play the upcoming World T20! Captain Fantastico and a batsman who lived by the sword and died by it, Baz, you will be sorely missed!!

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Fantastico Tahir, Morris Seal the 1st T20I for South Africa

After completing a remarkable come from behind 3-2 series win the South Africans were in high spirits and England looking to get their mojo back as both the teams clashed at Newlands in the first T20I of the two match series.

For South Africa, De Kock missed out due to a niggle which meant that De Villiers would have to take the gloves behind the wickets. Faf du Plessis won the toss and elected to bowl first with a slight bit of rain in the air and dodgy weather.

England got off to a swift start with both Hales and Roy taking on Rabada and Abbott as they missed their line and length. They whizzed to 36-0 by the third over but a back of the hand slower ball got Roy out, Rabada the beneficiary. It still looked like England were on course for a big total as they reached 50-1 after the power play. Imran Tahir got Hales caught brilliantly by Duminy, after he was tackled by Rabada, rugby style; thankfully no one suffered a serious injury.

At this point, England suffered a meltdown as they continued losing wickets to Tahir, by playing some senseless cricket. Tahir was Fantastico with his line and length and used his variations cleverly to leave England tottering at 81-6 after 13 overs. Tahir had figures of 3-0-16-4 and he had changed the entire game within a few overs. England now had only Jos Buttler left but even he struggled to find the boundaries. England eventually finished on 134-8 off their 20 overs, Tahir being the most impact player for South Africa with four wickets.

South Africa opened with De Villiers and Amla and they got off to a relatively brisk start reaching 25 in three and half overs when Topley got the outside edge of Amla's bat but Buttler grassed the chance. The English all rounder duo of Jordan and Stokes, though, brought England right back in the contest when they took out the openers in successive overs. The two bowled 4 overs for just 18 runs in addition to the two important wickets as South Africa reached 50-2 in eight overs. At the end of 12 overs they had reached 74-2 and with only a small target to chase, it was all going to plan for the Proteas.

Rashid got Duminy and Moeen Ali got rid of the Protea skipper Faf du Plessis to set the cat amongst the pigeons. Moeen Ali got Rilee Rossouw in the 18th over but Miller slugged a six and a four to restore some parity. Chris Jordan, in the penultimate over first got the dangerous Miller off the first ball and then Wiese off the fifth to seeing the match again in England's favour.

That left Reece Topley with 15 to defend off the final over of the match. Abbott got a single off the first ball and Morris creamed a four and a six off full tosses off the next two deliveries to bring the equation down to 4 off 3. The fourth delivery was a dot but Morris and Abbott scampered two's off the final two deliveries to seal the win for South Africa! Topley could have forced the match into a super over if he had collected the final delivery cleanly and knocked the stumps over to run the batsman out, but it was not to be as England were left ruing what could have been!

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Peppy Sri Lankan Youngsters Outclass Indians on a Green Pitch!!

It was a young Sri Lankan side which was up against an experienced Indian line up, high on confidence having just returned after beating the home team 3-0 in the T20I series in Australia. The first of 3 matches to be played was in the IT city of Pune and the pitch that was laid out came as a surprise to everyone who saw it. There was a tinge of green and Dinesh Chandimal had no hesitation in inserting India to bat first after he won the toss. India made just one change to the team that had won in Australia with Ajinkya Rahane coming in for Kohli who has been rested for this series. The Sri Lankan team featured plenty of new and unknown faces which were to become famous in the next hour or two.

Kasun Rajitha making his debut first snared the in-form Rohit Sharma after Rohit checked his drive which went airily towards mid-off where Dushmantha Chameera flew to his right to take a stunner. Rohit made a duck. Ajinkya Rahane, when he tried to turn the last ball off the first over to the leg side got a leading edge and Dinesh Chandimal took another brilliant catch diving forward. India, 5-2 after one over with Rajitha exploiting the little movement off the deck. In his second over, Raina was dropped on nought at third man off a wild hoick while Dhawan was missed the very next ball when Rajitha failed to intercept a ball hit in the air straight at him.

There was movement in the air and swing off the pitch and the Lankan bowlers were putting the ball in the right areas. The Indians, instead of buckling down were hell bent on hitting the cover off the ball which was almost an impossible task. Dhawan was snapped at third man to give Rajitha a much deserved third wicket, India slipping to 32-3 after 5 overs. When Dasun Shanaka was introduced in the 9th over, he nipped one past Raina's slog to disturb his timber and then in the same over a sharp lifting short ball accounted for Dhoni. Yuvraj was hit in the back of the head by Dushmantha Chameera who was clocking 145-149kph and the very next ball Yuvraj offered a simple return catch to the bowler.

The procession continued and only a 31* off 24 balls from R Ashwin saved India the blushes and the utter inaptitude of the Indian line up was put to the fore as the 9th wicket partnership between Ashwin and Nehra worth 28 the highest for them. India were bowled out for just 101 in the 19th over as the peppy pace trio of Rajitha, Shanaka and Chameera snared 8 wickets between them.

India needed quick wickets if they were to make a match of it and Nehra and Bumrah started off well with the ball still moving and making life difficult for the Lankan batsmen. Dickwella and Gunathilaka fell early to ill-advised pull shots off Nehra as Sri Lanka slipped to 23-2 in the 5th over. But those proved to be minor stutters as Kapugedara made a 26 ball 25 and Chandimal run a ball 35 before Milinda Siriwardena killed the chase with a 14 ball 21.

The young Sri Lankan team put up a Fantastico performance on a seaming wicket which the Indian batsmen were utterly incapable of negotiating and made a sub-par score which was overhauled easily to give Lanka a 1-0 lead in the three match series.

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Fantastico Tons from De Kock and Amla help South Africa Chase 318

Twin centuries from the Protea openers ensured that South Africa chased down a stiff target of 319 at a canter at Centurion which also kept series alive after England had won the opening two games.

England won the toss and chose to bat first, they were playing an unchanged side. South Africa brought in David Wiese for Rilee Rossouw to give them more bowling options. After Roy was run out in the 6th over, going for a suicidal run, Alex Hales and Joe Root combined to play solid but effective cricket adding 125 runs for the second wicket. Hales was eventually dismissed by Rabada for a well-made 65 off just 73 balls, his 3rd 50 on the trot in the series. Buttler, the hero for England with the bat in the previous ODI's, was promoted again to take charge but this time he was out for a first ball duck, caught by Duminy at leg gully off Rabada. Morgan struggled for 24 balls to notch up just 8 runs and it seemed that England would fall well short of a defensible total.

Root was slow to start off with and he struggled to time the ball but he has such a wide range of strokes and his temperament is so unflappable that he still seems to be able to collect runs at a fair clip. He combined with Ben Stokes to blast 82 off around 9 overs, the assault ending when Root was run out. His straight drive smacking into the stumps at the non-strikers end and in the confusion that ensued, de Kock and Wiese managed to catch him well short of his crease. But by this time Root had brought up his 7th ODI ton hitting the gaps with finesse and his 125 off 113 balls was his highest ODI score.

Stokes made a brilliant 53 off just 37 balls but it was Abbott who tightened the screws on England in the slog overs after Root's departure giving away very little. England eventually scrambled to 318 courtesy a couple of sixes from number 9 and 10, for the Proteas Abbott and Rabada picked up two wickets each while Morkel and Wiese picked one each.

De Kock has been in Fantastico form hitting a century in tests against them and then this being his 2nd of this ODI series. He was in punishing form just as he was in Bloemfontein where he had smacked an unbeaten 138* off just 96 balls before rain had halted his charge, here he made 135 off 117 balls. Cover drives, powerful pull shots, sweeps - he showed his full repertoire of shots and all this when combined with his natural gift of timing made for a stunning spectacle. It was his 10th ODI hundred in just his 55th match.

Then there was his senior opening partner, Hashim Amla, who had failed in the first two matches and he returned to form with a graceful century of his own. He played all of his trade mark shots - the flick off the pads through mid-wicket, glorious cover drives and those wristy square cuts. He made 127 off 130 deliveries and by the time he got out in the 46th over the chase was well and truly dusted.

The South Africans chased the huge total at a canter with the help of Fantastico tons from their openers and kept the ODI series alive with the highest successful chase at Centurion.

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New Zealand Gift McCullum Farewell Win and Chappell-Hadlee Trophy

Australia Vs New Zealand at Seddon Park in Hamilton: Feb 8, 2016 - Match Review

New Zealand beat Australia by 55 Runs

It was Brendon McCullum's last ODI match and his team mates made sure that their Captain Fantastico left the field with happy memories after they defended a modest total of 246 at Seddon Park in Hamilton furiously to set up a 55 run victory over arch rivals Australia to claim the Chappel-Hadlee Trophy 2-1.

Steve Smith won the toss and decided that on a small ground chasing would be a better option. New Zealand were forced to make two changes from the last game, a foot ailment forcing Santner out allowing leg spinner Ish Sodhi to have a game and Trent Boult was unwell which meant that Doug Bracewell took his place.

It was Brendon McCullum's final ODI innings and he went out in a blaze of glory. There was a shower of fours and sixes, of all the madness that he brings to the crease, everyone watching on with a bated breath. By the time McCullum was out in the 10th over New Zealand had raced away to 84 with him contributing 47 off just 27 balls including 6 fours and 3 huge sixes. His wicket allowed the Australian team to slow down the run scoring a bit and the Kiwis suffered a double blow when both Williamson and Guptill fell in successive overs to Boland and Zampa. New Zealand were 131-3 in the 20th over with Guptill making 59 off 61 balls.

Grant Eliott stitched two important partnerships of 40 and 52 with Nicholls and Anderson to lend some stability to the Kiwi innings as he reached his own 50 off 62 balls. But the wicket of Anderson on 223 in the 41st over opened the flood-gates as New Zealand lost their last six wickets for just 23 runs to finish on 246, a score which looked under par on the small Seddon Park ground. All the Kiwi bowlers picked up a wicket except Maxwell and it was Mitch Marsh who was the most successful with 34-3 off his 6 overs.

Warner and Khawaja started off where they had left in the last game thrashing boundaries at will to reach 39 in just the 5th over before Warner fell to Henry for 16. But Khawaja continued to play his shots and his wicket in the 12th over saw a mini collapse when Australia lost 3-19, Ish Sodhi bowling a double wicket over snapping both Smith and Maxwell in the same over.

Bailey and Marsh had put on 59 to steady the Aussie ship when Bailey was bowled for 33 and when 10 runs later Marsh was adjudged out to a controversial decision the Aussie's had breathed their last. Marsh squeezed back a ball from Henry who catching it appealed half-heartedly. The ball had presumably kissed the ground before popping up and only after the Umpire saw that that might not be the case he referred it to the 3rd umpire who duly gave Marsh out after seeing the replays.

There was to be no resurgence from the Australians this time around and they were bowled out for just 191. Henry picked up 3 wickets while Corey Anderson and Doug Bracewell bowled miserly spells of 6 overs for 16 and 15 runs respectively while also claiming 3 wickets between them which had a huge impact in slowing the Aussies in the middle overs.

The curtains were drawn on a fabulous career and Brendon McCullum played his part in the series win both with the bat and with his attacking captaincy. Farewell Baz!!

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Hales, Buttler Power England to Consecutive Wins

After the high scoring affair at Bloemfontein where England powered to 399 before de Kock put South Africa on course for a victory only to be denied by the rain and D/L method, Port Elizabeth promised a much more sedate affair with the slow pitch on offer.

South Africa won the toss and elected to bat first after making two changes, Rabada and Abbott coming in for Morris and de Lange which surely bolstered their bowling attack.

In the first ODI, Amla was bowled off Willey and this time it was Topley who got through his defences to get him for just four. South Africa scored only 12 in the first six overs but then both de Kock and du Plessis got on with it and South Africa were on 52-1 after 10. De Kock went leg before to Stokes after losing a review for 22 off 33 balls while du Plessis fell just short of his half century falling to one from Rashid that gripped and turned to take the edge. Du Plessis made 46 from 48 balls and South Africa were 98-3 in 20 overs. By this time Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid had turned the squeeze on, South Africa ambling to 135-3 after 30 overs.

It was a slow surface with the ball coming on after holding in the pitch a bit and hence made timing difficult. Even the highly skilled AB de Villiers was finding the navigation on this pitch difficult, reaching 65 off 87 balls with just four boundaries. He broke the shackles when he smashed a six off Jordan but when he tried to repeat the shot off Stokes, Jordan pulled off a blinder catching a steepler over his shoulders. When Duminy and Rossouw fell in successive Topley overs, South Africa had lost whatever hopes they would have had of having a late burst. In the end they could only muster 64-4 in the last 10 to reach 262-7 in their 50 overs.

Jason Roy started brightly again but his innings was cut short by a full in ducker that rattled his stumps, Abbott doing the damage. The already slow pitch was getting slower and batting was getting more and more difficult, England reached their hundred only in the 23rd over. Root was out there adjusting to the pitch and he made a painful 38 off 64 balls before Abbott cleaned him up too with the help of an inside edge. English skipper Eoin Morgan was sprightlier in his 29 off 28 balls before he was caught by de Villiers off Morkel. Morkel then got Stokes as well, cleaning him up off an inside edge for nought, after he had survived a leg before appeal off Tahir with the help of DRS.

England needed 65 off the final ten overs with a well set Hales at the crease and Jos Buttler just joining him. Hales gloved a catch to de Kock off the impressive Abbott to fall for 99 made off 124 balls but the hero of the first match for England Jos Buttler biffed 3 fours off the 44th over and then clobbered 3 sixes off the 46th to kill the chase. He made a peppy 48* off just 28 balls on a difficult pitch, on which no batsmen from either side could come to terms with.

So, the English side is 2-0 up in the 5 match series and how the Protea team responds to this situation will be interesting to see in the next week. England have looked very good so far and South Africa will have their task cut out if they are to salvage something out of this series.

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Australia draw level at Wellington through Warner, Mitch Marsh

Australia, after having lost the first match of the Chappell- Hadlee series convincingly by a huge margin of 159 runs were out to seek redemption at the Cake Tin in Wellington. The Kiwis won the toss and Brendon McCullum decided that they would bat first. New Zealand were unchanged while the Australians made 3 changes to the team that lost at Eden Park, Shaun Marsh being replaced by Usman Khawaja, Scott Boland coming in for Kane Richardson who had back soreness while leg spinner Adam Zampa replaced the injured James Faulkner.

Brendon McCullum was a man in hurry and he gave New Zealand a rousing start. Fierce cuts, authoritative pulls and swashbuckling inside out shots punctuated his impact innings of 28 made in just 12 deliveries. Boland was the man who got the prized scalp in his very first over.

Kane Williamson, after a rare eight ball duck in his previous innings was a bit edgy and circumspect early on making just 4 off his first 19 deliveries but he cut loose with two consecutive boundaries after that. Mitch Marsh came in and applied the screws on the run making by first taking out Guptill who was looking dangerous and then getting Nicholls in his second over, New Zealand 95-3 in the 18th. Williamson was purring along by this time and Elliott also got a move on. Kane reached his half century off 71 balls in the process also bringing up the Kiwi 150 in the 29th over.

The debutant leggie Zampa got the big scalp of Williamson caught by Smith at deep extra cover. Williamson made 60 off 74 balls as Corey Anderson joined Elliott out in the middle. Zampa for Elliott in his very next over and the Kiwis were in trouble now and when Ronchi and Anderson too departed in short succession they were 205-7 in the 41st. Santner and Milne though joined forces and smashed some big hits to take New Zealand to a very competitive 281-9 in 50 overs. Mitch Santner again contributed at the end for the Kiwis like has become the norm lately making 42 off 35 balls.

Australia started the chase confidently with both Khawaja and Warner going after the bowling and taking full toll on any loose offering from Boult and Henry. The Aussie 50 came up at the end of the 6th over and raced to 77-0 after 10. The Aussie 100 and Warner's 50 both came in the 13th over, Warner reaching the landmark in 37 balls. Khawaja too brought up his maiden fifty off 48 balls but could not carry on as he spooned a return catch to Santner off his 49th ball.

Henry then returned to make a double strike to remove Smith for two who was caught brilliantly by Ronchi and then cleaning up Bailey for a duck. When Maxwell chopped a Boult delivery on to his stumps for 6 Australia had slipped from 122-0 to 144-4 and looked in some trouble. But Mitch Marsh looked in superb touch right from the word go as he played some delectable shots to get going. Santner then returned and made a double strike, first Warner leg before for 98 and then getting Wade for 2 in the next over who was caught brilliantly by Milne in the deep.

At this stage Australia still needed 85 runs in 17 overs but Marsh, already in great touch found an able ally in John Hastings and the two of then comfortably took the Aussie's over the line with Marsh remaining unbeaten on 69 off 72 balls and Hastings on 48 off 47 balls. Mitch Marsh for the man of the match for his peppy performance with both the bat and the ball and for keeping the Aussie's still alive in this series.

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Bangladesh, India Enter the Semi Finals of the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup

Bangladesh and India progressed through to the Semi-Finals of the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2016 being played in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh U19s defeat Nepal U19s by 6 wickets

In the first Quarter Final of the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup hosts Bangladesh faced off with Nepal, a team that had defeated New Zealand and Ireland in the group stages. Nepal won the toss and decided to bat first and they were jolted early to be 19-2 before their captain Raju Rijul took centre-stage. He played a fluent innings of 72 off just 80 deliveries and strung important partnerships with opener Sunil Dhamala (25) and 3 down Aarif Sheikh (21). But other than Raju, no other batsman could carry on to make a sizeable contribution. They also suffered due to poor running between the wickets loosing 4 wickets to needless run-outs. Nepal finished on 211-9 in their 50 overs.

Bangladesh lost opener Saif Hasan early to Dhamala and then lost three quick wickets of Pinak Ghosh, Nazmul Hossain Shanto and Joyraz Sheik between the 20th and the 28th overs to leave them in a bit of strife at 98-4 and still requiring over a hundred runs to win the tie. Wicket-keeper Zakir Hasan joined Captain Mehedi Hasan Miraz and the two first stopped the bleeding by running the singles hard and eased the pressure slowly by occasionally finding the boundary. The two displayed a mature and calm mind to steer the chase easily as both of them completed well deserved fifties. Zakir remained unbeaten on 75 off 77 deliveries while Mehedi made 55* off 65 balls. Captain fantastico Mehedi Hasan Miraz won the Man of the Match award for his excellent performance with both bat and the ball.

India U19s defeat Namibia U19s by 197 runs

Indian captain Ishan Kishan won the toss and elected to bat first. He did not enjoy a long stay in the middle though and was dismissed for just 6 in the 3rd over. But Rishabh Pant who had made the fastest U19 50 in the last match against Nepal carried on from where he had left and first shared a huge 100 run partnership with Anmolpreet Singh (41) and then another 50 run partnership with Sarfaraz Khan before being dismissed for a peppy 111 off just 96 balls. Namibia failed to apply any kind of pressure on the Indian line up as Sarfaraz (76 off 76 balls), Armaan Jaffer (64 off 55 balls) and Mahipal Lomror (41 off 21 balls) all made significant contributions right till the end to help India post a mammoth 349-6 in their 50 overs.

Namibia started the chase reasonably well with the openers, Eaton and Davin putting on 59 in the 10th over but the wicket of Davin opened the floodgates and Namibia continued to lose wickets in a heap. Mayank Dagar and Anmolpreet Singh were the pick of the Indian bowlers picking up 3 wickets each. Namibia were bowled out for a meagre 152 runs thus handing India a humongous win by 197 runs and paving their way through to the Semi Final stage of the ICC U19 World Cup.

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Buttler Serves England a Win on the Platter in Bloemfontein

English captain Eoin Morgan won the toss and decided that England will bat first on a surface that looked full of runs under the Bloemfontein Sun. Jason Roy, who had been in some doubt for this match was declared for to play and James Taylor missed out. For South Africa, their rising star bowler Kasigo Rabada was rested in an attempt to manage his work load and speedster Merchant De Lange was brought in his place.

Jason Roy and Alex Hales both started in a hurry and teed off from the very first over. The English 50 came up in only the 6th over with Roy doing most of the damage. Morne Morkel was brought in as first change for De Lange and he immediately got the breakthrough that the Proteas were desperate for. Roy was out for a blistering 48 off just 30 balls. Root and Hales then began to serenely compile the runs as the 100 came up in the 15th over. Hales broke loose a bit as he neared his fifty and he got out as soon as he got there, De Lange getting him for 57 off 47 balls.

Jos Buttler, the man who hit the fastest ODI hundred for the English against Pakistan recently came in and continued from where he had left over two months ago. Cracking cover drives, lifted shots over long on, reverse sweeps and powerful pull shots, Jos was in his elements and showing his full range. On the other hand Root, playing in the shadow of his more attacking teammates calmly reached another half century off his own, this one taking just 52 balls.

Once Root got out, Stokes came in and played the role of a side-kick perfectly. The two of them motored along and Buttler brought up a fine hundred, off just 73 balls. He got out in the 43rd over for a classy 105 off 76 balls. Stokes, 21 off 23 balls until then, came into his own after the dismissal of Buttler. He made 57 off 38 balls and cameos from Moeen Ali and Chris Jordan ensured that the English side fell just short off the 400 run mark, finishing eventually on 399.

Amla fell early in the chase getting bowled out to David Wiley for just 6. But Faf du Plessis and Quinton de Kock both played percentage innings taking toll of anything loose to power South Africa to 72-1 after the 10 over mark. Faf brought up his fifty off just 37 balls and de Kock reached there too off the same number of deliveries.

Moeen Ali, then turned the course of the game when he first had Faf caught at deep mid-wicket off Hales and AB de Villiers was then snapped up by a Fantastico one handed grab by Stokes at the long-on boundary. On the other hand de Kock was in full flow, carving boundaries and slamming sixes at will. He brought up a lovely hundred off just 67 balls. When Duminy was foxed by a slower ball from Topley South Africa were 197-4 in the 26th over. Ali also took out Rilee Rossouw in the 33rd over just before the heavens opened up. The rain did not relent and de Kock was left stranded on 138* off just 96 balls as South Africa fell short by 39 runs on the D/L method. It was a great day of cricket spoiled by rain but we were still witness to two of the most peppy tons scored in recent times.

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Guptill, Henry and Boult Sink Australia

Australia Vs New Zealand at Eden Park in Auckland: Feb 3, 2016 - Match Review

New Zealand beat Australia by 159 Runs

New Zealand blew Australia away in the first match of the Chappell-Hadlee series that was played at the Eden Park in Auckland today.

Australian captain won the toss and elected to bowl first at a ground known for its short boundaries. Martin Guptill was in great form leading up to this match having slammed runs off both the touring Sri Lankan and Pakistani bowling line ups. With the destructive Brendon McCullum also returning to the top of the order after a back injury, the Kiwi's got off to a great start. Both the Kiwi openers went hammer and tongs after the Aussie new ball pair of Kane Richardson and Josh Hazlewood. The New Zealand 50 came up in only the 7th over and by the time McCullum departed in the 11th over, 79 runs had already been scored. McCullum had blitzed away to a 29 ball 44 which included 3 sixes, the kind of high impact innings that he generally plays at the top of the order. The innings was reminiscent of his 50 off just 24 balls that he had played at the same venue against Australia in the ICC World Cup 2015.

Kane Williamson, probably the best batsman in the world right now suffered a rare failure as he got out for an 8 ball duck. But Martin Guptill found an able ally in Henry Nicholls, the man who had rescued New Zealand from the lows of 99-6 in a recent ODI against Pakistan. The two put on exactly hundred as Guptill was out for a fabulous 90 scored off just 77 balls. New Zealand lost their way a bit after the wicket of Guptill as they slumped from 181-2 in the 26th over to 234-6 in the 37th but Mitch Santner made a composed 35* off 39 balls to take New Zealand to 307 in their allotted 50 overs.

Having chased down similar scores against India, Australia would have been confident going in to the change room at the mid innings break but they were to soon find out that chasing a huge total against the quality Kiwi bowlers is not the same as chasing against the Indian bowlers.

Marsh was snaffled by Guptill off Henry in the second over and then he cleaned up the Aussie skipper for 18. Boult then took over to get Warner out leg before contentiously to leave the visitors tottering at 39-3 in the seventh over. It soon became worse as Bailey, Maxwell and Marsh all fell one after the other to Henry and Boult as the Australians slumped to 41-6. The impact that Henry and Boult had on the Aussie top order was tremendous and the duo literally blew them away even before the chase could be properly started. Wade and Faulkner made 30’s but it was too little too late as the hole that the Aussie top order had dug for the team was too great to climb out off for the lower order batsmen.

Australia were eventually bowled out for a dismal 148 inside 25 overs. The margin of defeat was a whopping 159 runs.

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Kohli, Rohit and Raina help India Whitewash Australia 3-0 in the T20I Series

India had already won the three match T20I series after winning the first match by 37 runs at the Adelaide Oval and then defeating the Australians by 23 runs at the Melbourne Cricket Ground but it was Australia who were ringing in the chances to their team in the dead rubber at the Sydney Cricket Ground with as many as 5 changes from the last match.

Shane Watson, debutant captain for Australia in the T20 format won the toss and decided that they will bat first. Cameron Bancroft and Khawaja, debutants both, replaced Wade and the injured Finch respectively while Tait, Boyce and Head came in for Hastings, Lyon and Faulkner.

Khawaja opened the innings with Shane Watson as Marsh was bunted down the order. He hit a couple of good boundaries but got out to Nehra for 14 off 6 balls. Watson was just 1 off 7 balls but he and Australia both were up and running after a couple of ordinary overs from Nehra and Bumrah shifted the momentum. Australia were 57-1 after the power-play overs.

In the eighth over Ashwin got Marsh clean bowled as he went for a wild slog and departed for a scratchy 9 off 12 balls. Maxwell came out and Dhoni handed the ball to Yuvraj, who had got his wicket in the last game as well, and he got him again off the very first ball. Australia were 80-3 after 10 overs and were again losing their way to the spinners like in the first two matches.

Kohli dropped Watson off Pandya when Watson was on 56 and it was going to be a very costly error. Head was getting in his groove as he slammed Yuvi for a six over mid-wicket and then dragged the ball from way outside off to leg to slam a boundary. By this time Watson was in his elements and his high impact batting was making the Indian spinners look ordinary. He completed his hundred off just 60 balls in the 17th over. Australia finished on 197-5 in their 20 overs with Watson remaining unbeaten on 124 off 71 balls. It was the highest score in T20I's by a captain.

India were 18-0 after two overs but it was in the third bowled by Tait that the Indians got the big push towards the huge target. Tait went for 24 as Dhawan laid into him hitting him for a couple of fours and a six. India were up and running and though Watson got Dhawan out caught behind for 26 in the very next over, India were almost 50 in just the 4th over. Kohli joined Rohit and the pair have already tormented the Aussies enough in this tour were at it again. The Fantastico Rohit reached his 50 off just 35 balls but was caught by Watson off Boyce who was in the middle of a good spell. Debutant keeper Bancroft missed the stumping of Raina in the same over while he was still on nought and Raina rubbed in some salt by slogging a six over long on the next ball. Boyce got Kohli in his next over but not before Kohli had reached another 50.

The required run rate was slowly going up and Yuvraj was struggling to lay bat on ball in an innings reminiscent of his 11 off 21 balls in the WT20 final he made against Sri Lanka in 2014. But Raina was still getting the runs at a fair clip and he kept India in the hunt with India requiring 17 off the last over to win the match. Yuvraj was 5 off 9 balls at that point and he would be facing the first ball of the final over. Yuvraj slammed the first ball for a boundary and then going deep in his crease flicked the next for a six to get India right back in it. Raina hit a boundary of the last ball to seal the match in India's favour by 7 wickets.

It was a great comeback by India after going down 1-4 to Australia in the ODI's.

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Sri lanka, Pakistan Enter the Quarter Finals of the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup

Pakistan and Sri Lanka from Group B cruised through to the Quarter-Finals of the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup being played in Bangladesh.

Pakistan U19s defeat Canada U19s by 7 wickets

Canada won the toss and elected to bat first and they had a steady, if not a spectacular start. Their opener Bhavindu Adhihetty added 60 for the second wicket with Amish Taploo and then had a stand of 49 with his skipper Abraash Khan. Things were looking bright for Canada as they were 139-5 in the 39th over but their lower middle order could not keep up and crashed to give two run-outs to the Pakistan side. They were all out in the 49th over for just 178. Left arm spinner Hasan Khan claimed 3 for 36 in his 10 overs while leg break bowler Shadab Khan snaffled two for 44 off his 10.

In reply to Canada's 178, Pakistan started off well with an opening partnership of 51 between Openers Zeeshan Malik and Gauhar Hafeez. Zen had another huge partnership of 108 runs with Saif Badar for the third wicket. Zeeshan remained unbeaten scoring a valuable match winning innings of 89 off 122 balls which included nine boundaries and a six. The win propelled Pakistan to the Quarter Finals after they had also won their opening game against Afghanistan.

Sri Lanka U19s defeat Afghanistan U19s by 33 runs

Sri Lanka U19 faced Afghanistan U19 at Sylhet and their captain Charith Asalanka won the toss and decided to bat first. The Sri Lankan openers provided a steady start and looked to be set before losing their way to go from 48-0 in the ninth over to 96-5 in the twenty seventh. Sri Lanka was given a close shave by the Afghans at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 held in Australia and their U19 team was repeating the dose. But the Lankan skipper, who has been in Fantastico form lately, had other ideas. He batted superbly to score a fighting 71 off 91 balls with 8 boundaries and a six. Sri Lanka again lost their way towards the end to finish with a below par 184 all out in the 48th over. For Afghanistan, off spinner Shamsurrahman picked up 3 wickets in his 10 overs while giving away only 18 runs in the process.

Afghanistan were well placed at 51-1 in the 15th over but like Sri Lanka they lost their way to slump to 91-6 in the 31st over. Lower order batsman Waheedullah Shafaq cracked a run a ball 47 but it was too little too late. Afghanistan were bowled out for 151 in the 45th over. Charith Asalanka chipped in with two wickets in his six overs while Kamindu Mendis picked up three thus making sure that the Sri Lankans booked their ticket to the Quarter Finals of the world event.

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India, Nepal Enter the Quarter Finals of the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup

India and Nepal from Group D progressed through to the Quarter-Finals of the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2016 being played in Bangladesh.

Nepal U19s defeat Ireland U19s by 8 wickets

Ireland won the toss and elected to bat first but struggled against a disciplined Nepal attack. They lost both their openers by the 18th over with the score on 42. Sandeep Lamichhane, a right arm leg break bowler then proceeded to wreak havoc on the Irish U19 side with his spin bowling.

He first dismissed Gary McClintock in the 23rd over and then returned to claim a hat trick in the 32nd over of the Irish innings when he had Lorcan Tucker caught at mid-wicket off the fourth ball, Adam Dennison caught behind off the fifth ball and then clean bowled Fiachra Tucker to secure his hat-trick and sparked wild celebrations.

Ireland were reeling at 92-8 in the 39th over but a 30 by Harry Tector carried them to 131 in their allocated 50 overs. Lamichhane returned with stunning figures of 5-27 off his 10 overs while all-rounder Dipendra Singh Airee claimed 2-18 in his 7 overs.

Nepal lost their opener Sandeep Sunar off the very first ball of the chase but Yogendra Singh Karki’s unbeaten 61 and his partnerships of 55 with Sunil Dhamala and 77 with Aarif Sheikh sealed the match for Nepal in the 26th over.

India U19s defeat New Zealand U19s by 120 runs

New Zealand won the toss and inexplicably sent in India to bat first on a pitch that was expected to get more difficult bat on. India slipped to 19-2 in the 6th over and the going was slow for India but Rishabh Pant and Sarfaraz Khan stabilised the innings with fluent half centuries. Pant fell for 57 in the 27th over but Sarfaraz carried on with Armaan Jaffer. Sarfaraz made a very good 74 off just 80 balls before he fell playing a cute shot.

India slipped to 165-5 but sensible batting by Armaan Jaffer and Mahipal Lomror took India to 258 off their 50 overs. Armaan and Lomror made 46 and 45 respectively. For the Kiwis Zak Gibson snared three wickets in his 10 overs.

New Zealand had a horrid start to their innings as fast bowler Avesh Khan doomed the Kiwi top order with his high impact bowling as he snared their top 4 to leave New Zealand tottering at 16-4 in the 11th over. There was no way that the Indian team could have lost the match after the dream start and they soon slumped to 88-8. They would get bowled out for just 138 in the 32nd over to crash out of the U19 World Cup. Mahipal Lormor scalped 5 wickets in his 7.3 overs while giving away 47 runs while Avesh took 4 for 32 in his 10 in the process hurtling India through to the Quarter Finals.

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India Humble Australia by 23 Runs at MCG, Take T20I Series 2-0

A Fantastico result for Team India as they trounce Australia at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground in the second T20I by 23 runs and clinch the three match series 2-0 with one to play.

Australian captain Aaron Finch won the toss and elected to bowl first. Australia handed debut's to as many as three players, Nathan Lyon, Andrew Tye and Scott Boland. Maxwell and Shaun Marsh also came in for Warner and Smith. India were unchanged.

India got off to a steady start by scoring 12 runs off the first three overs but then got into over-drive as 17 and 15 runs were scored in the 4th and 5th over bowled by Hastings and Faulkner respectively. By the 10th over India had raced along to 86 for no loss with both Rohit and Dhawan looking set for a big innings.

Dhawan got out reverse sweeping Maxwell but he had done his job by then. He scored 42 off 32 balls. Kohli came in and continued from where he had left in the last game. He cracked some audacious shots and was motoring along with Rohit. Rohit completed his 50 and was run out for 60 made off 47 balls. Dhoni came in at the fall of the wicket and he too began smashing it from the word go. By the time Dhoni got out in the final over, India were already 181. India would eventually finish on 184 for 3 with Kohli again playing a high impact innings off 60* of just 33 balls.

Australia started the run chase in a hurry as India leaked runs in the early stages. They reached 62-0 after 6 overs when Dhoni decided it was time for some spin.  In the very first over by Jadeja, Dhoni missed a relatively easy stumping chance of Marsh. On the other hand Finch was playing a blinder of an innings as he launched both Jadeja and Ashwin into the stands. He had reached 62 off just 33 balls and Australia were 89-0 off 9 overs.

Marsh got out to Ashwin in the tenth over, Pandya got rid of Lynn in the eleventh and then Yuvraj got the big fish Maxwell in the twelfth. The tide had turned in India's favour. Jadeja took a sensational return catch to dismiss Watson and Finch, who was struggling with a hamstring injury ran himself out in the next over for a well-made 74 off 48 balls. Australia still needed 59 off the last 4 overs and the Indian spinners were not going to let the Aussie lower order score that many. Australia could only muster 157-8 in their allocated 50 overs to hand India the match by 27 runs.

It has been a Fantastico turnaround for the Indian team after they were trounced 1-4 in the ODI series earlier this month. India had earlier won the first T20I by 37 runs at Adelaide. The third match of the series in on Sunday at the Sydney Cricket Ground!

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India beat Australia by 37 runs in the first T20I at Adelaide

It was a Fantastico outing for Team India as they defeated Australia convincingly in the first T20 international that was played today at the Adelaide Oval to lead the three match series 1-0.

Australia won the toss and inserted India on to bat first. They had chased huge totals in the recently concluded ODI series and this decision must surely have been prompted by that fact.

Australia gave debut to the hard hitting all-rounder Travis Head while India gave debut to the all-rounder Hardik Pandya. Old guns Shane Watson and Shaun Tait returned for Australia while Yuvraj Singh and Ashish Nehra made a comeback for the Indians.

India started well as Rohit found the boundary quite frequently among his mis-hits. India reached 31-0 in 3 overs as Shaun Tait struggled for his line and length. Watson was introduced in the 5th over and he immediately made an impact as he snaffled both Rohit and Dhawan as India slipped to 41-2.

India moved to 79-2 with Kohli continuing from where he had left in the ODI series. Rains on the other was struggling to find any sort of rhythm. Raina reached 1000 T20 international runs while Kohli brought up his 10th T20I half century. Kohli was finding the gaps with ease and India were in a commanding position. Tait finished his 4 overs with figures of none for 45. Raina fell in the last over going for a cute lap and MS Dhoni arrived to smack a 6 and 4 of his first two balls. India finished with 188-3 with Virat Kohli smashing an unbeaten 90.

The Australian innings got off to a rapid start as both Finch and Warner started playing their shots from the word go. The youngster Bumrah stated off well and had Warner mis-timing a pull shot to mid-on. Hardik Pandya went for 19 runs in good first over as he struggled with his control giving away 5 wides. Australia were going nicely but Jadeja got one to stop on Smith and Australia were 89-2. In the next over Ashwin got Finch leg before wicket and Australia had suddenly lost both the set batsmen.

Lynn and Head were out there with the Indian spinners tightening the noose and Head too departed shuffling too far across to Jadeja. From there on it was a mere formality for India even though Shane Watson and Lynn did strike a few hefty blows.

Pandya got two lucky wickets in the end while the impressive Bumrah finished with three. Australia were bowled out for 151 handing India a Fantastico win by 37 runs. India won the game but there is plenty of scope for improvement for them. I hope that the team will go from strength to strength and clinch this series so that they can carry the confidence in the WT20 World Cup.

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My Review of Team India for the Final game Vs Sri Lanka

Marks for the Indian Players for the match Vs Sri Lanka

Sachin Tendulkar – 2/10 – started off well but could not carry on.

Virender Sehwag – 0/10 – Could not provide the start on the big day, did not learn from previous mistake and wasted a precious referral.

Gautam Gambhir – 7/10 – Batted sensibly and bailed India out of a pressure situation but got out trying to play a loose shot. He should have seen India home.

Virat Kohli – 6/10 – Supported Gautam Gambhir well and was brilliant in the field…

Yuvraj Singh – 7/10 – Struck gold for India when it needed. Took 2 wickets. A great all round performance by him.

MS Dhoni – 8/10 – Decisions payed off and made a matchwinning unbeaten 94 to to ensure the cup comes home this time.

Suresh Raina – 5/10 – fielded superbly.

Harbhajan Singh – 5/10 – bowled well and took the key wicket of Dilshan

Zaheer Khan – 5/10 – bowled brilliantly initially but gave a lot of runs in the death overs helping SL put up a big total of 274.

SreeSanth - 3/10 – no wickets under the belt, gave extras plus bad economy rate.

Munaf Patel – 4/10 – went wicketless and average bowling performance.

Overall Points –

Batting – 8/10

Bowling – 7/10

Team – 10/10

Well deserved 10 marks since they played as one!

India Vs Sri Lanka, Final - Match Review

India Vs Sri Lanka – The Final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, 2nd April – Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.

India lost a controversial toss and as expected Sangakkara chose to bat first.

India walked in with one change of Sreesanth replacing the injured Ashish Nehra while Sri Lanka came out with 4 changes leaving out one of their most economical bowler of the tournament Ajantha Mendis. Right from the start, the Sri Lankans looked very tentative in their approach. Some brilliant bowling by the Indian pacers backed by spirited work in the field put the Lankans on the back foot and ensured they reach their lowest powerplay score till now that of 31/1 at the end of 10 overs. Dilshan tried to stick around but was shown the way for 33 runs.  Sangakara and Jayawardene, two of the seniormost players, steadied the ship with a good partnership of 62 until Sangakkara was dismissed by Yuvraj for 48. Silva and Kapugadera did not last long. But M Jayawardene played beautifully and together with Parera and Kulasekara took the SL innings to a very competitive total of 274/6 at the end of 50 overs.

Jayawardene scored his century and played a gem of an innings, performing in a high pressure game needs  a lot of grit, determination and concentration and he showed the world just what a class player he is! It was interesting to see how the highly rated Indian batting prowess would respond now.
It was a disappointing start to the Indian innings with Sehwag getting out for a duck. Sachin showed glimpses of a big innings but could not carry on. Pressure was intense. But Gambhir stuck on and with the able support from Virat managed to bring the run chase back on track. Virat got out for 35 and there was an unexpected player walking in. Dhoni entered the scene at 114/3 and went on to score an unbeaten 91 putting up a 109 run match winning partnership with Gambhir.

4 needed from 7 balls when Dhoni hit a massive six… the crowds erupted… firecrackers dazzled in the dark of the night sky… the players rushed out to the field… India had got the CUP! The celebrations had just begun! But will surely continue for many more years to come!!!

My Review of Team India for the Semi Final game Vs Pakistan

Marks for the Indian Players for the match vs Pakistan

Virender Sehwag - 5/10 – gave a fiery start to the innings, like he always does, but could not carry on.

Sachin Tendulkar – 8/10 – gave a fiery start to the innings and carried on, stopped just short of his hundred, played a brilliant innings.

Gautam Gambhir – 3/10 – couldn’t build on the start.

Virat Kohli – 1/10 – was good in the field but contributed just 9 runs...

Yuvraj Singh – 4/10 – failed with bat but worked magic with the ball.

MS Dhoni – 6/10 – Good captaincy tactics and stuck on for a while with the bat too.

Suresh Raina – 5/10 – Made some very valuable runs in the end helping India build up a formidable total.

Harbhajan Singh – 4/10 – picked up the key wickets of Umar Akmal and Shahid Afridi.

Zaheer Khan – 3/10 – provided the initial breakthrough though more was expected frm him.

Ashish Nehra – 4/10 – the most economical, bowled a number of dot balls, overall bowled quite tactfully

Munaf Patel – 3/10 – got 2 wickets including the key wicket of Haffeez who was going pretty strong and bowled the only maiden for India.

Overall Points

Batting – 6/10

Bowling – 5/10

Team – 6/10