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McCullum pulls off last-ball win New Zealand's Nathan (left) and Brendon McCullum celebrate victory over India in the second Twenty/20 match. —
AP/PTI
Sunil Gavaskar writes |
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BCCI bars Sachin from Masters tie
Sobers, 3 Ws, Marshall in ICC Hall of Fame
Govt intimidating RCA voters: Modi
North, Johnson lift Oz
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McCullum pulls off last-ball win
Wellington, February 27 Chasing a modest 150 to win, the hosts were cruising along comfortable before the Indians changed the complexion of the game with some tidy spin bowling and Irfan Pathan's double strike in the 18th over. Needing 12 runs off Pathan's last over, the Kiwis rode on Brendon McCullum's unbeaten 69 to scrape through to record their third consecutive victory against the world champions. The home team won the thrilling match by five wickets. The result of the ding-dong battle at Westpac stadium could have been different had substitute fielder Rohit Sharma latched on to a difficult catch off McCullum, which would have carried the game to the eliminator stage. Put into bat, India's batting failed to click for the second time on the trot, leaving New Zealand with a fairly simple task of scoring 7.50 runs per over. The New Zealand run chase began with a flourish with McCullum and Jesse Ryder (26) putting on a brisk 53-run partnership. Ryder hoicked Irfan Pathan for a six in the very first ball and then hit Zaheer Khan for two fours in the next over as he played a cameo off 15 balls before being dismissed by Khan. Indians were lucky to have their second wicket when Kiwi umpire Gary Baxter adjudged dangerous Martin Guptill (10) leg before off Harbhajan Singh despite a big inside edge. With the spinners drying up the runs, the game gradually tilted towards India after Pathan's twin blows left the home team with a difficult task of scoring 23 runs off 12 balls. Pathan dismissed Taylor and Jacob Oram (0) on consecutive balls at the start of the 18th over, setting up an exciting climax to the match. Yuvraj next dismissed Neil Broom but gave away 11 runs. Pathan then gave away just three runs in the first three balls but McCullum hit him for two consecutive fours to level the scores. In the last ball Rohit dropped the difficult chance off McCullum much to the dismay of his teammates. In the Indian innings, as in the first T20 at Christchurch the Indian top order collapsed like a pack of cards to bring the pressure on the middle order batsmen. India: Gambhir c B McCullum b Butler 10 Sehwag c Vettori b O'Brien 24 Raina c Southee b Butler 0 Yuvraj c Oram b O'Brien 50 Dhoni not out 28 Yousuf Pathan b Vettori 0 Jadeja c Guptill b Southee 19 I Pathan not out 15 Extras (lb-2, w-1): 3 Total (for 6 wickets in 20 overs): 149 FoW: 1-29, 2-36, 3-47, 4-92, 5-94, 6-121. Bowling: T Southee 4-0-36-1, I O'Brien 4-0-30-2, I Butler 4-0-42-2, D Vettori 4-0-21-1, J Ryder 4-0-18-0. New Zealand: Ryder b Khan 26 McCullum not out 69 Guptill lbw b Harbhajan 10 Taylor b I Pathan 27 Oram c Dhoni b I Pathan 0 Broom c I Pathan b Yuvraj 5 McCullum not out 1 Extras: (b-1, lb-6, w-5): 12 Total: (for 5 wkts, in 20 overs): 150 FoW: 1-53, 2-69, 3-125, 4-125, 5-134. Bowling: I Pathan 4-0-41-2, Zaheer Khan 4-0-30-1, Ishant Sharma 2-0-19-0, Harbhajan Singh 4-0-15-1, R Jadeja 4-0-21-0, Yuvraj Singh 2-0-17-1. — PTI
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Sunil Gavaskar writes Get back the sky blue" was the cry of a fan after India lost the second Twenty20 game off the last ball of the match. It is not just cricketers who are superstitious but fans also and this fan wanted the Indian team which has done so well in sky blue colours to get back in those colours. The other thing is that with England and Sri Lanka also having the same dark blue how are fans going to distinguish which team is theirs and which is the opposition. Be that as it may, the Indian batting once again let the team down. With just a day’s gap it was clear that no lessons had been learnt from the previous loss and it looks like India is not taking T20 as seriously just as the 1970s Indian teams did not take the then new limited overs games seriously. It was only much later that it dawned on the 70’s teams that there was some scope for tactics and for innings to be built in limited overs cricket too and it was not all bang-bang stuff. Brendon McCullum once again showed that if one is prepared to wait, the results will be positive. He was there right till the winning shot like he was in the first game and that New Zealand lost less wickets this game too is an indication that they are applying themselves seriously in the latest format of the game. McCullum anchored the innings and ensured that being the more experienced player in the team he was around to avoid any last minute hiccups. India’s innings faltered pretty early but for a dashing counterattack from Yuvraj, India would have had an even lower total. Dhoni tried to stave off the Kiwis but he had little support. What was encouraging was to see the fight-back by the Indian bowlers. The biggest plus of these two games is to see that Irfan Pathan is getting that late swing back. He had lost it after the Zimbabwe tour in 2005; thanks to some bio mechanical tampering with his action. He is a keen learner and so is looking to improve all the time and if he can get that swing with the red ball, it will solve a lot of problems for the Indian seam attack. New Zealand deserve credit for the manner in which they have played both the Twenty20 games and beating the World Champs will do their confidence a world of good. That is not a good sign for the Indians on the eve of the limited overs series. Maybe they should get back in the sky blue. — PMG
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BCCI bars Sachin from Masters tie
Wellington, February 27 Tendulkar and compatriot Dinesh Karthik were scheduled to feature in a lighthearted match between former Australian and New Zealand internationals before the second T20 encounter against the Kiwis here. The Indians were offered a chance to compete in the match in order to give them an opportunity to gain some practice. Karthik was due to turn out for the Australians and Tendulkar for the Kiwis. However, the presence of Hamish Marshall, who has played for the Royal Bengal Tigers in the unrecognised Indian Cricket League (ICL), prompted the Indian board to pull the plug on the participation of the Team India duo. Although Marshall has ended his involvement with the ICL after playing for the Tigers last year, the BCCI - which has forbidden Indian players from competing against ICL cricketers - insists that its rule is still applicable. But the BCCI's directive is clearly not a popular one in all quarters with New Zealand Players Association chief executive Heath Mills decrying the move. ''They've known the teams for a while and Hamish is no longer a contracted ICL player,'' Mills was quoted as saying by the 'New Zealand Herald'. ''It's not appropriate to go down that road. Hamish is a New Zealander, a member of the association and has every right to play a game of cricket in this country,'' he stated. ''The whole business is a bit silly.'' This is not the first time that the BCCI has prevented Indian cricketers from playing alongside those with ICL connections. Last year, stylish middle-order batsman VVS Laxman was denied an opportunity to play for Nottinghamshire because the English county side had an ICL player on their roster. ‘Silly’ decision: Kiwi board chief
Annoyed at the BCCI's stand of stopping Sachin Tendulkar and Dinesh Karthik from playing in the NZPCA-ACA Masters T20 match, New Zealand Cricket Association (NZCA) chief Heath Mills has lashed out at the Indian Board, calling its decision 'silly'. ''We are surprised. Both teams were excited with the possibility of playing with two of the Indian players, Sachin and Dinesh. It would have been great for our game,'' Mills asserted. ''Some of the bowlers were young (from the U-19 level) and looking forward to bowling to one of the greatest players (Sachin) who have played the game.'' Mills, also the CEO of the New Zealand Players Cricket Association, said the Indian board's decision came to his knowledge this morning. ''I heard about it this morning at 8. Obviously during the week we had made the offer to the management and were happy to include two Indian players in the side to give them a hit in the middle. The team management seemed really keen with the idea and yesterday they confirmed two players would play and that they were allowed to do that. ''Then, we woke up this morning with news that the BCCI did not want the two Indians to play in the match because Hamish Marshall was playing. As you would know, Marshall was an ICL player. However, his contract finished with the ICL last year so we did not think there would be any problem,'' Mills told mediapersons.
— UNI |
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Sobers, 3 Ws, Marshall in ICC Hall of Fame
Bridgetown, February 27 Frank Worrell, Everton Weekes, Clyde Walcott, Garfield Sobers, Gordon Greenidge and Malcolm Marshall were inducted in the panel at a special ceremony during the tea interval on the first day of the fourth Test between the West Indies and England. Commemorative caps were presented to the players, family members and representatives by the West Indies Cricket Board President (WICB) and International Cricket Council (ICC) director Dr Julian Hunte in front of a large and appreciative crowd. Remarkably, the six players represent just over 10 per cent of the total initial intake of 55 players into the Hall of Fame, a joint venture between the ICC and the Federation of International Cricketers' Associations (FICA). Elated with the honour, Sobers said, "I totally enjoyed my playing days and I am thrilled to be honoured here today in my home country. Meanwhile, it was a day of double celebrations for Weekes as the induction ceremony coincided with his 84th birthday. — PTI
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Govt intimidating RCA voters: Modi
Jaipur, February 27 The petrol outlets of two RCA members — Mahendra Sharma and M Nahar — in Udaipur and Bhilwara, respectively, were raided today in a joint operation of District Supply Office, Weight and Measurement Department (Industries) and oil company officers, Modi told PTI over telephone from Mumbai. "Immediately after the raids, the two owners got anonymous calls advising them to contact Srimat Pandey, special secretary to the Chief Minister Office in Jaipur. This is direct interference in the election process by the Gehlot government," he alleged. Though the elections are being held under the supervision of retired Justice of Supreme Court NM Kasliwal, Modi claimed the state government wanted to win it by scaring away voters with the help of various agencies, Modi said. "This is illegal, the Gehlot government is harassing me and RCA members, I will fight till the end," he said. When contacted, the Commissioner of Industries (Weight and Measurement) Manohar Kant said it was a routine check in every district. — PTI
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North, Johnson lift Oz
Johannesburg, February 27 North and Johnson slaughtered the bowling in an eighth-wicket stand of 117, a record for Australia against South Africa. Australia (1st innings): Hughes c Boucher b Steyn 0 Katich c McKenzie b Steyn 3 Ponting b Ntini 83 Hussey c Kallis b Morkel 4 Clarke c Boucher b Steyn 68 North st Boucher b Harris 117 Haddin c Harris b Ntini 63 McDonald c Kallis b Steyn 0 Johnson not out 96 Siddle c Kallis b Morkel 9 Hilfenhaus c De Villiers b Morkel 0 Extras
(b-6 lb-8 nb-7 w-2): 23 Total (in 125.4 overs): 466 Fall of wickets:
1-0 2-18 3-38 4-151 5-182 6-295 7-296 8-413 9-466 10-466. Bowling: Steyn 30-5-113-4 (1nb), Ntini 27-6-71-2, Morkel 28.4-3-117-3 (6nb, 2w), Kallis 8-0-33-0, Harris 18-2-64-1, Duminy 14-2-54-0.
— Reuters |
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New Zealand today snatched a dramatic last-ball victory in the second Twenty20 cricket match to clinch the series 2-0 against India.
