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Record-breaking ODI victory for Kiwis
Afridi seeks divine help
IPL likely to be part of ICC calendar
Stop airing comments, BCCI tells Kirsten
Lee most fiery pacer after WI quartet: Richards
British Grand Prix: Hamilton under pressure to win
Fisichella undeterred by crash
Rain interrupts men’s quarters
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Younis's undefeated 123, his fifth one-day century in 174 matches, gave Pakistan their fifth victory while chasing 300 or more runs for victory and revived their fading hopes of a place in the final.
Pakistan reached their victory target of 309 for the loss of only two wickets with 4.3 overs to spare after India had compiled 308 for seven from their 50 overs. If Sri Lanka beat India on Thursday, Pakistan have to defeat Bangladesh in the final league match by a big margin to play in the final. Sri Lanka have already qualified. Younis shared partnerships of 56 with Nasir Jamshed (53), who retired hurt with cramps, and an undefeated 144 from 123 balls with captain Misbah-ul-Haq (70 not out). Younis also passed 5,000 international one-day runs in his innings of 117 balls which contained 11 fours and one six. Earlier, Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Rohit Sharma grafted half centuries to guide India to 308 for seven. Paceman Rao Iftikhar picked up three wickets but Dhoni (76) and Rohit Sharma (58) overcame a top-order slump to put on 112 runs from 139 balls for the fifth wicket. Dhoni, who came into bat in the 13th over, was out in the penultimate over after hitting a measured 76 from 96 balls with just four boundaries. India made 77 in the final ten overs with Irfan Pathan hitting an unbeaten 38. Pakistan, led by Misbah-ul-Haq after Shoaib Malik collapsed with dehydration in a pre-match fitness test, lost the toss but responded well on a good pitch after a quickfire opening stand of 88 by Gautam Gambhir (35) and Virender Iftikhar and Abdur Rauf (2-66) picked up four wickets for 41 runs with three coming in 10 balls to reduce the Indians to 129 for four. Gambhir drove Iftikhar straight to Shahid Afridi at extra cover after having hit four boundaries in his 32-ball knock. Two runs later in the 12th over, Rauf had Sehwag caught behind by Sarfraz Ahmed one short of a fifty after the opener had looked in ominous form, striking six fours and two sixes in his 33-ball innings. The keeper took a fine low catch and five balls later Suresh Raina hooked Rauf straight to Salman Butt at deep square leg, his first failure of the tournament after scoring 301 runs with two centuries. Yuvraj, after executing some fine drives in his 37, was caught by Sarfraz who took a diving one-handed catch off Iftikhar. Rohit Sharma reached his fourth fifty from 63 balls in the 40th over while Dhoni reached his 21st from 71 balls with only three fours. Sharma hooked Iftikhar right down Rauf's throat in the 42nd over while in the next over Saeed Ajmal had Yousuf Pathan caught at wide mid-off for a duck. — Reuters Scoreboard
India Gambhir c Afridi b Iftikhar 35 Sehwag c Sarfraz b Rauf 49 Raina c Butt b Rauf 1 Yuvraj c Sarfraz b Iftikhar 37 Dhoni c Sarfraz b Tanvir 76 Rohit c Rauf b Iftikhar 58 Y. Pathan c Jamshed b Ajmal 0 I. Pathan not out 38 Praveen Kumar not out 1 Extras (b-1, lb-4, w-8) 13 Total (7 wkts, 50 overs) 308 Fall of wickets:
1-88, 2-90, 3-91, 4-129, 5-241, 6-249, 7-290 Bowling: Tanvir 10-0-87-1, Abdur Rauf 10-0-66-2, Rao Iftikhar 10-1-51-3, Afridi 10-0-52-0, Saeed Ajmal 10-0-47-1. Pakistan Butt run out 36 Nasir Jamshed retired hurt 53 Younis not out 123 Yousuf b Chawla 20 Misbah not out 70 Extras
(b-1, lb-1, w-2, nb-3) 7 Total (2 wkts, 45.3 overs) 309 Fall of wkts:
1-65, 2-165 Bowling: Praveen Kumar 8.3-1-61-0, I. Pathan 10-0-68-0, Ishant 10-1-63-0, Y. Pathan 4-0-29-0, Chawla 8-0-53-1, Sehwag 5-0-33-0. Player of the match:
Younis Khan (Pakistan)
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Sri Lanka eye an all-win record
Karachi, July 2 ''It is good we have a chance to play them before the final it gives the opportunity to carry on our good form in the tournament and extract more from the players,'' Bayliss said. Sri Lanka convincingly defeated Pakistan to book a place in the final but the hosts will have to beat arch rivals India in a do-or-die encounter to stay afloat in the competition. The Australian further added that so far he was satisfied with Sri Lanka's performance in the tournament especially the batsmen who have managed to score more than 300 runs on three occasions. ''The batting has been our weak link in the last few months. But in the Asia Cup despite hiccups it has fired and made totals that have given good support to our bowlers on these very good batting tracks,'' he said. Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawerdene said though he was still not sure that who will play the final, the game against India would give a good preparation for the summit clash. ''Look at this stage I don't know who we will play in the final but tomorrow definitely it is going to be a tough game for us and we need to carry on our form and momentum in the competition for the final,'' Jayawardene said. Jayawardene showered praise on youngster Ajantha Mendis who has picked up 11 wickets in the tournament. ''Mendis is a youngster with a sensible head on his shoulders and that is helping him learn quickly and perform well. He has struck gold in the event and what more can we ask off him,'' he said. Left-handed opener Sanath Jayasuriya did not feel well after he had a short net session today and returned to his team hotel. But the team coach felt that it was hardly an issue and said Jayasuriya will be fine to play against India tomorrow.
— UNI |
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Record-breaking ODI victory for Kiwis
Aberdeen (Scotland), July 2 The Black Caps thrashed a makeshift Irish side by 290 runs yesterday in what was the biggest margin of victory in the history of one-day international cricket, surpassing India's 257-run defeat of Bermuda at last year's World Cup. New Zealand's total of 402 for two was also their highest one-day international total and an opening stand of 274 runs between Brendon McCullum and James Marshall was the fifth highest for any wicket. In reply, Ireland were scuttled out for 112. McCullum claimed his first ODI century with a knock of 166 from 141 deliveries that featured 11 boundaries and 10 sixes. Marshall took 120 balls to post his hundred but then added a further 61 from only 21 more deliveries. McCullum finally fell in the 43rd over, holing out to Ryan Haire on the cover boundary off the bowling of Phil Eaglestone. McCullum's departure brought little respite as Ross Taylor set about a ragged Irish attack with an onslaught which saw him race to an unbeaten 59 from only 24 balls, with one of his four sixes comfortably clearing the pavilion on its way out of the ground. The second wicket fell when Marshall skied a catch to wicketkeeper Gary Wilson off Reinhardt Strydom in the final over. Ireland's response started positively enough as openers Strydom and Wilson moved smoothly to 27 without loss off four overs. Strydom was bowled by Tim Southee in the next over, however, and things fell apart quickly. Southee and Michael Mason claimed three wickets apiece while only some lusty hitting from tail-ender Peter Connell, who top-scored with 22 not out, ensured Ireland hoisted their tally above the 100 mark.
— AFP Scoreboard New Zealand Marshall c Wilson b Strydom 161 McCullum c Haire b Eaglestone 166 Taylor not out 59 Flynn not out 0 Extras (b-4, lb-7, w-5) 16 Total (2 wkts, 50 overs) 402 Fall of wickets: 1-266, 2-380 Bowling: P Connell 9-0-95-0, PS Eaglestone 7-0-60-1, R Strydom 8-0-63-1, AC Botha 10-0-66-0, WK McCallan 8-0-55-0, GE Kidd 8-0-52-0. Ireland R Strydom c Taylor b Mason 11 GC Wilson b Southee 21 PR Stirling c Hopkins b Oram 4 AC Botha c Hopkins b Southee 6 AR White c Hopkins b Mason 7 RS Haire b Mason 2 AD Poynter c Hopkins b Southee 7 WK McCallan c Hopkins b Patel 10 GE Kidd c Taylor b Elliott 15 P Connell not out 22 PS Eaglestone run out 4 Extras (w-2, nb-1) 3 Total (all out, 28.4 overs) 112 Fall of wickets: 1-28, 2-32, 3-40, 4-48 , 5-53, 6-53, 7-65, 8-71, 9-94, 10-112 Bowling: TG Southee 6-0-22-3, MJ Mason 7-0-35-3, JDP Oram 5-0-9-1, JS Patel 5.4-2-24-1, GD Elliott 5-2-22-1.
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Afridi seeks divine help
"He told this very religious and holy man that he was finding it difficult to give his best. Shahid told him that whenever he went out to bat all of a sudden he felt pressure and was nervous and got out early," a source said. He said the holy man had told Afridi not to worry and advised him to relax and pray. Afridi's frustration came through on Monday night after the game against Sri Lanka when on getting out again quickly he returned to the dressing room and wept. The source said Afridi was so frustrated and upset with his failure again with the bat that he sat down and shed a few tears with his face covered in a towel. "He then told the management, they should drop him for the remaining games as he was not performing well," a source said. Afridi's last one-day fifty came against Zimbabwe earlier this year and since then in his last 13 innings he has not got a half century although he has been bowling steadily well. The source said there was talk of resting Afridi from today's game against India but the management decided that for such an important match, his experience would count a lot. "That is why it was decided to play him again and the captain and coach told Afridi that he should forget about the past failures and just concentrate on improving his batting," the source said. Pakistan are expected to play pacer Abdul Rauf and off spinner Saeed Ajmal in place of Wahab Riaz and Mansoor Amjad against India and there is also talk that Afridi might be asked to open the innings to allow him to chance his hand in the power play periods.
— PTI |
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IPL likely to be part of ICC calendar
Melbourne, July 2 The multi-million dollar Twenty20 tournament has been included in the final draft of a radical proposal to revamp ICC's international
programming. The suggested schedule includes IPL and will be presented to the ICC's executive board in Dubai over the next two days, reports The Australian. Leading players and player associations have demanded a space for the
IPL for fear that emerging cricketers will abandon playing for their country and instead take the big money on offer in the IPL. A recent survey by the Federation of International Players Associations (FICA) showed that more than half of the 64 players polled from seven of the nine active Test countries, including Australia, were willing to sacrifice the end of their international career for
IPL money. The new proposal has each of the nine active Test nations playing each other over a two-year period in three-Test series. The top four nations would then play semifinals and a final in the third year, while the fourth year of the cycle would be kept free for "icon" series such
as the Ashes. The current future-tours programme, which runs on a six-year cycle, does not end until 2012 but the ICC has already begun discussing what will replace it.
— IANS |
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Stop airing comments, BCCI tells Kirsten
"He had already taken permission about his website, so there's no issue there. But he cannot write post match comments or columns. The same holds true for Upton too. That's as per our policy," BCCI CAO Ratnakar Shetty told PTI today. Kirsten has given his views on audio in the website about the matches which have been played by India in the ongoing Asia Cup in Pakistan and has also written columns, the latest one dated June 25 dealing with the importance of introducing a rotation system for players. In his last column Kirsten has written that one of his most important tasks as head coach "will be to implement a rotation policy for the national squads in order to keep our best players rested and fresh". Stating that implementing this won't be a child's play, Kirsten has written that the players were mature enough "to accept that there is simply too much cricket for any single player to perform at his best all the time." Kirsten has also indicated that India's limited overs captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni "is probably the most obvious example of a man needing a break" adding that going by his own experience "by the time a player is feeling tired or flat it is already too late to rest him." "The rest needs to happen before fatigue sets in. MS is a brilliant cricketer and the sort of man who is happy to play every game, but he knows that it is not practical. Fatigue can also lead to loss of form as well as injuries, both of which can adversely affect a player's long-term career," he has written. Dhoni had recently criticised the Asia Cup schedule, in particular the back-to-back matches, and the BCCI responded by stating that anyone was free to take a break if he feels so. The website also contains columns (four so far) by Upton and the BCCI has also directed him to stop his columns. The Board has already stopped chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar from writing his regular columns in a Marathi daily owned by its chief Sharad Pawar's brother. Interestingly, the coach's website also contains a section 'Ask Gary', which is an interactive one, with the fans seeking answers from Kirsten on coaching matters. One of the queries concerned the much-discussed juniors vs seniors issue and Kirsten has again touched on the relevance of a rotation policy in his answer. "In today's world of professional sport with really demanding schedules, I believe strongly in a rotation policy as well as succession planning," Kirsten has answered. — PTI
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Lee most fiery pacer after WI quartet: Richards
Melbourne, July 2 Lee became the fastest bowler to claim 300 wickets in ODIs when he reached the milestone in his 171st match, against West Indies - 15 games earlier than previous record holder Pakistani legend Waqar
Younis. And Richards feels the Aussie has proved himself enough to be placed alongside the Windies greats. "I think he's certainly up there with those guys (Marshall, Holding, Garner and Ambrose)," Richards was quoted as saying by the 'Australian Associated Press'. "I think it is hard to assess what took place from then to now ... but I think when he's called upon to do it, he's just as good as any," he added. Impressed with the 31-year-old pace spearhead's consistency, Richards said he was amazed by the fitness levels maintained by Lee. "What I have been impressed more than anything in Brett Lee is his fitness, and no matter what time of the day you call on Brett Lee he's going to be 100 per cent," Richards said.
— PTI |
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Dosti Cup: Pak win 1st match
Amritsar, July 2 Shakeel scored 47 runs for Pakistan XI with the help of three fours and two sixes. The tournament was inaugurated by former India captain Bishan Singh Bedi. Padam Passi, executive member, said that the next match would be played at Jalandhar and the last one would be held at Ludhiana. Despite having cash-rich cricket boards, Indian and Pakistani deaf cricketers lamented that they had to borrow money from friends and relatives to play the game. Passi, the main brain behind this Indo-Pak cricket tie, urged the boards to spare some funds to promote the game among the deaf across the world. |
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British Grand Prix: Hamilton under pressure to win
London, July 2 With a dizzying whirl of social and promotional engagements in the week leading up to the race and a sell-out crowd of 240,000 expected for the three-day event, Hamilton's profile has never been higher. Yet the youngster, who took a storming pole position in front of his home crowd in his rookie season last year before finishing third, has played down the soaring expectations. He has also been at pains to calm fears that the title may be slipping away from him, with Ferrari's Brazilian Felipe Massa now 10 points clear coming up to the halfway point of the season. ''Kimi (Raikkonen) was 17 points behind with two races to go last year,'' Hamilton said on the McLaren Web site of the Ferrari driver who beat him to the title by a single point last season. ''The fact that he not only came back but also won the title tells you a lot about how unpredictable this sport can be. You can never take anything for granted. ''And that's why I'm still confident and focused,'' added the Briton, who slipped to fourth overall after leading the championship with victory in Australia in March and again in May when he won in Monaco. ''We've got 10 races remaining. 100 points -- it's all to play for and I'm ready for it.'' Red Bull's David Coulthard was the last Briton to win at Silverstone, with McLaren in 2000 and Ferrari have an impressive record at the circuit where they took their first championship victory in 1951. The Italian team were dominant at the last race in France and Raikkonen, winner in Britain last year, and Massa could prove irresistible again. Ferrari have won five of eight races so far and been on pole position five times as well. ''Last week we had three very good test days here and we think that we're competitive,'' said team boss Stefano Domenicali. Raikkonen, third overall and five points behind Massa, is also likely to have a fresh engine - unlike Hamilton - after it was damaged in France. Engines must last two races in a row, with a 10-place penalty on the starting grid for any unscheduled swap, but the Finn will not face any sanction as new rules this season allow one such change. BMW Sauber, with Poland's Robert Kubica second overall and just two points adrift of Massa, will also be pushing hard after losing pace in France. Kubica, who warned last week that BMW were in danger of being caught by other rivals while Ferrari pulled away, saw the next two races as crucial. ''I think that Silverstone, and also Hockenheim, will somehow become the turning point of the season with everybody challenging everybody else in order to find their real positioning in both the drivers' and constructors' championship,'' said the Pole.
— Reuters |
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Fisichella undeterred by crash
Silverstone, UK, July 2 ''I'm motivated to do well in Britain now we've got a solid finish under our belts at the last race in France,'' Fisichella said. ''I've always enjoyed and done well at Silverstone. Even though it's not a particularly distinctive track it's very technical so you need a good driving rhythm, good pace, good balance and constant levels of grip. I also like the atmosphere there as the fans are very enthusiastic, particularly for any British team.'' ''I'm not feeling any ill effects from the accident: it really looked worse than it was, I only wish I had remembered to take my hands of the wheel so it would have spared me the trip to hospital!'' he added. Fisichella's teammate Adrian Sutil was also confident of putting up a good show. ''I'm looking forward to Silverstone this year. It's good to be at a circuit you really know well and you are comfortable at. We test here a lot and of course the factory is so close, it's like our home race. Personally, I like the track, it's quite challenging and really one of my favourites. The atmosphere is great too, and with all the Lewis fans it should be a fantastic race,'' he said. ''My target for this race would be to get everything working well and hopefully being in a position where we could race and pass some cars. In Magny-Cours we were quite close, especially on my middle stint where the lap times were good, but we just need that little bit more to be able to get ahead of some others,'' Sutil
added. — UNI |
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Federer sets up Safin showdown London, July 2 The Swiss's pursuit of a modern-era record sixth successive title showed no signs of slowing down when he outgunned, out-thought and ultimately outclassed Croatia's Mario Ancic 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 to reach his 17th grand slam semifinal in a row. There he will meet Russian hot-head Safin, who survived a mini eruption in the first set to overcome Spanish 31st seed Feliciano Lopez 3-6, 7-5, 7-6, 6-3. After days of sweltering sunshine, stormy skies enveloped southwest London, bringing with them rain showers that meant more than three hours play was lost. Federer's victory charge was briefly halted. But having blown Ancic off court in the 20-minute opening set for the loss of just one point on his serve, Federer took a two hour rain interruption in his stride and marched towards his 64th consecutive win on grass. Ancic, who held the distinction of being the last man to beat Federer on grass in the first round here in 2002, finally ran out of puff and was put out of his misery when Federer fired his 15th ace of the match. There was also explosions in the other quarterfinal being played simultaneously on Court One Safin, twice a grand slam winner but now down at 75 in the rankings, became so enraged with his patchy play in the opening set that he fired a ball over the roof and out of the court. But he managed to put a lid on his emotions in a match which soon turned into a battle of the booming serves. He out-aced Lopez 18 to 17 and his tally of 45 unreturnable serves was also one more than the serve-and-volley loving Spaniard. A double fault from Lopez sealed him a place in the Wimbledon semifinals for the first time but he was not about to get carried away about his chances of ending Federer's five-year reign on Friday. Second seed Rafael Nadal crushed British hope Andy Murray in the Wimbledon quarterfinals on Wednesday, racing to a 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 victory. The Spaniard was simply unstoppable as he picked apart the Scot in front of a Centre Court crowd who had been hoping for a repetition of Murray's epic fourth round win over Richard Gasquet. From the moment Nadal, runner-up here for the last two years, broke serve in the eighth game the outcome was inevitable and Murray sank under a barrage of baseline thunderbolts. French Open champion Nadal broke serve twice in the second set and pounced again at 3-3 in the third. Sania-Mattek crash out Sania Mirza's Wimbledon campaign ended today after she and Bethanie Mattek lost to Williams sisters Venus and Serena in straight sets in the doubles quarterfinals here today. The 13th seeded Indo-American pair lost 4-6, 3-6 to their more fancied 11th seeded opponents. The quarterfinal appearance though was Sania's best performance in Wimbledon. Sania and Mattek were in even terms with their opponents for a while in the first set but the American sisters' better serve and power tennis finally caught up with the Indo-American pair who ran out of steam in the second set to lose the match in 86 minutes. Sania had already crashed out of the singles and mixed doubles competition - pairing with Mahesh Bhupathi - losing in the second round in both events. — Agencies
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Rain interrupts men’s quarters
London, July 2 Spanish left hander Feliciano Lopez was 5-2 up in the first set against twice grand slam champion Marat Safin on Court One. British hope Andy Murray and twice runner-up Rafael Nadal are second up on Centre Court with Arnaud Clement against Rainer Schuettler completing the quarterfinal lineup. Rain, which delayed the start of play by nearly an hour, is forecast to interrupt play throughout the day.
— Reuters |
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Karachi, July 2
Karachi, July 2
Mumbai, July 2
