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West Indies blow away India
England close in on semis berth
Afridi blames selectors for team’s poor performance
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Kiwis clinch thriller
Host JCT hold East Bengal 1-1
Pinegrove lifts title
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West Indies blow away India
Bridgetown (Barbados), May 9 India would need a miracle to reach the semis now as a win for Sri Lanka over Australia in the other Group F match at the Kensington Oval would mean they no longer had a chance of reaching the final four. If Australia defeats Sri Lanka and West Indies in their next two matches and India beats the Islanders in their last encounter, then it will come down to runrate which will be the only slight chance that India will have to make to the semis. He was calm and resolute when Harbhajan Singh was in operation and ensured his side did not lose wickets even when the Indian had the game in control after five overs which yielded just 26 for no loss. But the moment the off-spinner went off the attack, he opened his broad, muscular shoulders to annihilate the rest of the Indian bowlers. He was in no hurry to rotate the strike while raising 80 runs for the first wicket with Chanderpaul. Gayle lashed out at the bowlers with power and precision and showed scant respect to Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra and Ravindra Jadeja as all his sixes sailed over the pickets to the utter delight of the local fans. The Indian fielding lived up to its billing. Ravindra Jadeja spilled Chanderpaul at 12 when West Indies had made 43 in 7.4 overs. A little later, Gayle watched Dhoni and Yusuf Pathan collide with each other and drop what should have been a simple catch at short square. Gayle was on 46 in a score of 73 for no loss in 11.1 overs. He lived to flay the Indian attack in the death overs, adding 52 runs after the reprieve. Forget the dropped catches, the out-fielding also left much to be desired. Jadeja seemed to have not got over his nightmare against Australia, as he floundered in the deep, letting the ball slip under his knees. The 21-year-old was also to concede 16 runs in his first over, with Gayle and Darren Sammy slamming him for sixes. The score could have been much more but pacer Ashish Nehra, who bagged three wickets for 35 runs, bowled a brilliant last over to restrict West Indies to 169. — PTI |
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England close in on semis berth
Bridgetown (Barbados), May 9
Only Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis, JP Duminy and Johan Botha managed double figures against the clinical English attack. For England, Graeme Swann and Ryan Sidebottom scalped three wickets each, while Michael Yardy and Stuart Broad picked two apiece to help England’s cause. Chasing 169 to win, South Africa found the going tough and lost half their side inside 10 overs with the scoreboard reading 55 and if it wasn't for Duminy's 25-ball innings it could have been much more embarrassing for the Proteas.
Kieswetter and Pietersen put the Protea attack to the sword and shared as many as nine fours and a six in the first six over. Kieswetter started the proceeding with a blazing four at cover and Pietersen followed it up with two more fours in the second over of Dale Steyn. Morne Morkel was at the receiving end in the next over when Pietersen slammed the lanky pacer at mid-wicket and then picked up another one in the last delivery. There was still no respite for Morne as Pietersen pulled him through square leg in his next over to pick up a four and then slammed one through mid-wicket. Kieswetter then welcomed Charl Langeveldt with a six at long-off and went on to score two more fours to amass 16 runs off the over. After a few silent over, Pietersen stepped on gas in the 11th over, hammering Steyn for two fours and a six to accumulate 16 runs en route to his fifty. However, Botha struck in the second ball of the next over to remove Pietersen. Looking to loft the ball over leg gully, his inside-out sweep landed straight in Graeme Smith's hands as England slipped to 98 for two in 11.2 overs. KP to return home LONDON: England batting mainstay Kevin Pietersen is all set to return home midway through the Twenty20 World Cup in the West Indies to be with his pregnant wife as the couple prepares for the birth of their first child. After guiding England to win over South Africa with a match-winning 53 here yesterday, Pietersen said although he would be heading home within the next 24 hours, he expects to return to the Caribbean should England qualify for the semifinals, barring any complication. “It’s my first child so it’s a hell of an exciting time for me. I’ll be dashing across the Atlantic and hopefully dashing back,” Pietersen was quoted as saying by the Sky Sports. “I’m flying back to London in the next 24 hours and hoping everything goes well and according to plan, there’s no complications,” he said. — PTI
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Afridi blames selectors for team’s poor performance
Barbados, May 9 After slumping to the back-to-back defeats, Pakistan now need a miracle to qualify for the semifinals out of Group E. Pakistan will have to beat South Africa by a big margin in their last Super Eight game at St Lucia and then hope that England, who have won two successive games, trounce New Zealand to have an outside chance of qualifying for the semis. Afridi was of the view that the team lacked mental strength and his poor form has added to Pakistan’s woes in the tournament. “The players are trying their best but I can’t explain why the team is not winning games. Maybe, the new boys in the side lack mental strength. To finish close games, I think we need to be mentally strong,” he said. —
PTI |
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Kiwis clinch thriller
Bridgetown, May 9 Salman Butt hit boundaries in the second and fourth balls of the 20th over and left Abdur Rehman to score two runs from the final ball after snatching a single from the penultimate ball. Rehman swung at the last delivery only to agonizingly watch Martin Guptil come under the ball at square leg. The Kiwis were all over Butler who helped them snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. This is for the first time that New Zealand have beaten Pakistan in a T20 international match. Despite being restricted to a below-par 133 for seven, New Zealand fought tooth and nail and kept themselves in contention of qualifying for the semifinals. Like the Kiwis, Pakistan also recovered from a jittery start, they were 58 for five at one stage, to take the match to the wire. But when it mattered most, they floundered. Having suffered their second successive defeat in the Super Eights, Pakistan are almost out of the the tournament and need a miracle of sort to make the last-four stage. They need to beat South Africa with a big margin on Monday and pray that England inflict a big defeat on New Zealand the same day. Man of the match Butler had figures of 4-1-19-3, a performance he will relish for the rest of his life. Even as wickets fell in a heap around him, Salman Butt batted with gumption and poise to remain unconquered with a 54-ball 67. He was involved in 53-run association for the sixth-wicket with Abdul Razzaq who made 29. Earlier, Left arm spinner Abdur Rehman and Mohammad Sami had struck crucial blows to tie down the Kiwis. Invited to bat, the Kiwis found a batting hero in their skipper Daniel Vettori, who made a fighting 34-ball 38. Vettori was associated in a crucial 40-run association with Scott Styris. Mohammad Sami, who replaced Mohammad Asif in the eleven, drew the first blood, removing Jesse Ryder in the fourth over the innings. If runs had been bleeding when the fast bowlers in operation, it dried up when Afridi introduced Abdur Rehman and Mohammad Hafeez into the attack. —
PTI |
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Host JCT hold East Bengal 1-1
Ludhiana, May 9 The first half, shot to life when JCT’s Emmanuel Okoro had three back-to-back chances. First he cut in through the left and his weak shot was deflected away by EB’s goalkeeper Gurpreet. Then he headed from close range but found the keeper again. The third, too, was parried away by the keeper, but clearly the hosts were getting into their groove. EB had their own chances but Karanjit did well to keep a clean slate in the first half as the team’s went in to the breather at 1-1. The second half started with both teams looking for a breakthrough, and hence JCT brought on two attacking players in the form of Baljit and Balwant. But the visitors drew first blood when Abel Hammond and Sanju Pradhan combined in a brilliant one-two, which saw Hammond finish with a crunching shot in the 68th minute. JCT hit back soon and a rare foray down the right flank opened up the EB defence. Okoro dodged three defenders and shot at goal, but the ball rebounded off Gurpreet. The rebound fell to Penn, who thundered it into the top-left corner in the 77th minute. The two teams avoided being too adventures in the closing stages and seemed rather pleased with a point
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Pinegrove lifts title
Chandigarh, May 9 In the boys category too, in an exciting final Pinegrove proved their mettle again trouncing the defending champions The Lawrence School, Sanawar 33-27. Pinegrove dominated from the beginning and the Sanawarians despite their best efforts could not contain Pinegrovian shooters like Shikar and Jakhar who availed every opportunity and continued maintaining their margin. Gurnika Talwar and Shikhar Bachus from Pinegrove were awarded the Highest Scorer and Best Player respectively. Panini Mehra from Welham Girls’ School was adjudged the best Player while Angad Singh from Sanawar bagged highest scorer award. Chief Guest Brigadier Rajinder Bahuguna, Commandant 14 GTC, Subathu gave away the prizes. —
TNS |
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2007 Champions India were on the brink of elimination from the twenty20 cricket World Cup after suffering a 14-run defeat against West Indies in their Group F Super Eight match here today.
Kevin Pietersen struck a blistering half century against the country of his origin as England beat South Africa by 39 runs in a Group E Super Eight match to inch closer to a semifinal berth.
With Pakistan’s Twenty20 World Cup title defence in complete disarray, captain Shahid Afridi has criticised the selectors for not consulting him before naming the squad. “We are coming out from a very difficult time after the New Zealand and Australia tours. The selection committee picks the team for us and first they announce the team before naming the captain and coach. To do well in Twenty20 cricket, we need to have some good Twenty20 players in the side,” Afridi said after the heart-breaking one run-loss.
New Zealand today pushed defending champions Pakistan to the brink of ouster from the Twenty20 World Cup after scoring a pulsating one-run win in their crucial Super Eights match here today. Chasing 134 to win, Pakistan required 11 runs from the last over but paceman Ian Butler bowled two dot balls and took a wicket off the last ball to emerge hero for the Black Caps.
JCT were one of the brightest starters in the current I-League season. But then, as fitness issues mounted and form dipped, reality hit back. Therefore, when their last home game came up against Kingfisher East
Bengal, the home team needed a positive outlook. And that was exactly what they showed as they fought their way back.
Bravo produced an outstanding direct hit from long on to get rid off Dhoni and then held a catch in the deep off Harbhajan before dismissing Ashish Nehra at short mid-wicket by Suleiman Benn to put the last nail in Indian coffin. Earlier, Chris Gayle butchered the Indian bowlers with a whirlwind 66-ball 98 as West Indies posted a competitive 169 for six after India skipper Dhoni put West Indies to bat.
Earlier, Gayle slammed five fours and seven sixes and involved in three crucial partnership with Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Darren Sammy and Keiron Pollard to take his team to a competitive score. Gayle mixed aggression with caution to single-handedly anchor the West Indies innings on a damp but drying wicket which wasn't conducive for stroke making at the Kensington Oval here. Gayle piously defended his citadel when the bowlers demanded respect and treated them with casual disdain when they begged to be punished.
Duminy added 37 runs with Mark Boucher (9) and shared 21 runs with Botha to provide some respectability to their run chase. Earlier electing to bat first, England lost opener Michael Lumb in the fifth ball when he was trapped in front of wicket by Johan Botha but they still went on to compile 65 runs in first six overs, courtesy Kieswetter and Pietersen’s lusty hitting.
Pakistan are on the brink of elimination after losing their first two Super Eight matches and the all-rounder conceded his side was passing through a difficult phase after the Pakistan Cricket Board had sacked, banned and fined players for their below-par performance and indiscipline in Australia earlier this year. “Maybe in the future we can all sit together and pick a good bunch of guys. Hopefully, in the future this will all change. This is the team that the selectors have given me. Those were the best 15 guys I had and I also expected them to do well. But at this point of time, I don’t want to criticise any player in particular. Our fielding in both games was bad and that let us down,” Afridi said.
KODAIKANAL
Sutil among points again