Cricket Blog

Sachin and Bhajji’s heroics guide India to win

The Indian team came in to the test series with confidence under their belt after their resounding win against New Zealand in the one day series.Much was expected from the Kiwis after the loss in the ODI’s . India won the toss and choose to field first on a pitch which seemed to offer something  for the seamers in the first half hour. Well Dhoni’s decision to put New Zealand team in was justified after his bowlers got first 6 wickets in the first session alone . Then came the turn of vettori and ryder the two put put a gud partnership to keep india in bay for sometime.Just when u thought vettori and ryder will guide new zeland through there came the much needed breakthrough when munaf got rid of vettori.then wickets fell in a hurry and they polished out newzealnd to modest 279.Then came the turn of the indians.Gautama nd sehwag got india of to a decnt start but sehwag got out when he went for a non existing run and that led to his downfall.Then came in the wall much was expected from him after he ddint have gud test series against australia.But he kept his cool and he along with gautam put india on a safe zone.Then Martin came and provided the much needed wicket by getting rid of gautam gambhir.Then came the turn of the little master.He looked nervous at the start but as and when he wa sin in the middle his fluency was begining to show.He along with rahul put india to a gud partnership.Dravid to fell after scoring 66.Then  master and yuvraj complied india to a gud partnership but yuvi fell when he shouldered his arms and was bowled.But sachina nd dhoni ensures that there were no maore alarms and played well.Sachin got to his 42nd century with ease.dhoni to chipped in with usefull44.The tailenders got chipped in and helped sachin reach century and also guide india to lead above 200.Zaheer to played well with a useful 50.Then new zealand came to bat with a lead of 249.they got of toa bad start losing early wicket.zaheer and munaf got wickets and new zealand were no where in the game after that.Indians won finally after 33 yrs their first won.Lets hope they keep up the momentum and carry on their form in the remaining test to.

- Here is hoping that the Indian team carries its good form forward. Jai Ho!!!

( From an Indian cricket fan)

Last ball win for new zealand

India came into the second Twenty Twenty match hoping to change their fortunes.But unfortunately the toss didn’t go their way.New Zealand  won the toss and put India to bat.They again got off to  a good start from Sehwag but he again paid the penalty for trying to be overambitious. He got out trying to play too one shot to many. They needed Gautam to consolidate the innings but he too fell.Then came Raina a lot was expected from him considering he was the hero was of the first twenty twenty but today was not to be his day.Then came Yuvraj singh who brought India back to the game with some sensible batting. He along with Dhoni put on a good partnership but just when you thought they were taking the game away from New Zealand, Yuvraj got out at the wrong time. It was up to Dhoni to make sure India to a decent total. Although wickets kept falling at the other Dhoni kept his cool and batted till the end. Irfan Pathan and Ravindra Jadeja too chipped in with useful scores to get India to 149. The score was competitive, but by no means match winning.

But that didn’t happen for India as New Zealand got upto a rollicking start. Ryder and McCullum batted sensibly and laid the foundation for rest of batting . Zaheer provided the break through when he got rid of the dangerous Ryder . Ross Taylor took charge of the Kiwi innings along with McCullum after Guptill fell . Then came the turn of the Indian spinners to put a led on the scoring rate.They were succesfull for some time. Just when you thought New Zealand were running away with the game,  Irfan Pathan came in and got two wickets in one over to provide India some hope. He  got rid of Taylor and the dangerous Jacob Oram in consecutive balls . Then in the penultimate over McCullum scored 13 runs of that over which brought new Zealand back on track. The Kiwis needed 11 runs from the last over.The crowd too were tensed.First three balls Pathan bowled well but McCullum kept his cool and smashed consecutive fours to tie the scores. On the last ball, Pathan pitched it short, and McCullum’s heave fell centimetres short of a diving Rohit sharma.

India lose 20-20

After the success against Australia , India came to New Zealand as favourites.Well their tour to New Zealand didn’t get off to the brightest of starts. New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori won the toss and put the Indians to bat on a pitch which offered something for the bowlers in the initial overs.

Their move to send Indians to bat proved to be costly in the initial overs as  Sehwag got off to a brisk start smashing 3 sixes in first over. Just when you thought India were gaining momentum they lost Gautam Gambhir to a irresponsible shot. The shot which was not needed at that stage as the two openers had got 7 runs of the first 4 balls. O’Brien provided the much needed break through by getting rid of Gambhir. Then on the other end Sehwag was going great guns but he too perished for getting over ambitious. Well wickets kept tumbling after Sehwag’s dismissal.Yuvraj, Dhoni and Sharma fell  rather quickly. Suddenly Indian team lost momentum. But then came the Pathan brothers.  A lot was expected from them as they had guided India to  emphatic win against Sri Lanka.

Yusuf was going great guns by hitting Nathan McCullum for 3 successive sixes but got out perishing trying to go for the fourth one and the catch was taken well by Oram.Irfan to followed soon. Suddenly Raina had ran out of partners as wickets kept tumbling at the other end.But Raina had a good partner in Harbhajan who gave him good support and provided India the much needed impetus in the final 5 overs which which guided India to total of 162 which they thought it was enough considering they were in a precarious position at one stage.

Then came  New Zealand’s turn to bat.They got off to a bad start losing Jesse Ryder. But McCullum and Guptill put on a very good partnership to make sure they were in the hunt and they were with the run rate. Martin Guptill too played well before he fell to Harbhajan. One moment you thought India were gaining momentum but Taylor came and he too attacked the Indian bowlers.

Khan provided the much needed break through by removing the dangerous Taylor. Just when you thought India were in the game, here came  Oram. He took the attack to the bowlers and he along with McCullum guided New Zealand to a good victory.

Plenty of lessons have to be learned by the Indian team if they have to come back .Thet have to plan and play according to the situation and not go bang bang right  from the first ball. Dhoni claimed that their players played too  many shots too early. Well lets hope India comes up with a better plan and does well in the next 20- 20 match. Hope we have a  good Twenty Twenty match at the Westpac Stadium on Thursday.

Pathans guide India to victory

India vs Sri Lanka- T20 international

Venue :- Colombo, Sri Lanka

Final Score: India 174/7 ( 19.2) beat Sri Lanka 171/4 (20 overs)

Man of the Match:- Yusuf Pathan (India)

A late assault from the Pathan brothers saw India beat Sri Lanka in a tightly fought T20 encounter in Colombo.

When the two came together at the crease, India were 115/7, needing another 57 runs from 29 balls. Some lusty hitting from the duo, combined with some poor bowling for Sri Lanka allowed India to overhaul the target with four balls to spare. Yusuf Pathan was named MoM for his all round performance ( 22 off 10 balls and 2/23 with the ball)

Earlier, a fine 61 from captain Tillekeratne Dilshan allowed Sri Lanka to post a competitive total of 171 after choosing to bat first. Jayasuriya and Dilshan got off to a flyer, but Sri Lanka lost the plot in the middle overs ( 36 runs between overs 6 and 12), and towards the end ( 19 runs off the last three overs)

India lost Gambhir and Sehwag early, but Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina ensured that they stayed above the asking run rate. However Sri Lanka clawed their way back in the middle of the innings as India went from 81/2 to 115/7. Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Rohit Sharma were guilty of taking one ball too many to get settled.

However Yusuf Pathan changed the complexion of the game, hitting Bandara for 17 in the 16th over. As Dilshan abandoned his plan of spin and turned to Fernando and Malinga, younger brother Irfan got into the act too. Fernando went for 25 runs in his two overs, and it was his sloppy 19th over that put the game back into India’s favour.

Malinga was asked to salvage a lost cause in the last over with five runs needed from six, but Irfan made sure there were no heroics from the slingy Sri Lankan as he hoisted him over midwicket for a winning six.

Sehwag named Indian cricketer of the year for 2007-08

Dashing Indian opener Virender Sehwag has been named as the country’s 2007-08 player of the year. The 30 year old will get the Polly Umrigar Trophy and a cash prize of Rs.5,00,000 from the BCCI in a special felicitation function to be held in the city of Mumbai on February 18.

Sehwag plundered 1462 runs in tests in 2008 at an average of 56.23. He also scored a memorable triple century against South Africa in Chennai.

Other BCCI award winners in the Feb 18 function.

G.R. Viswanath- C.K.Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award ( Rs.15,00,000 as prize money)

Cheteshwar Pujara (Madhavrao Scindia Award for the best domestic batsman- Rs. 1,00,000 in prize money)

Sudeep Tyagi (Madhavrao Scindia Award for the best domestic bowler – Rs. 1,00,000 in prize money)

Ankit Bawne (M.A. Chidambaram Trophy for the best u-15 cricketer- Rs. 50,000 in prize money)

Mandeep Singh (M.A. Chidambaram Trophy for the best u-17 cricketer-Rs. 50,000 in prize money)

Bhuvaneshwar Kumar ( M.A. Chidambaram Trophy for the best u-19 cricketer, Rs. 50,000 in prize money)

Rahul Dewan ( M.A. Chidambaram Trophy for the best u-22 cricketer-Rs. 50,000 in prize money)

Mithali Raj (M.A. Chidambaram Trophy for the  best woman cricketer- Rs. 50,000 in prize money)

M.D. Thirushkamini ( M.A. Chidambaram Trophy for the best woman cricketer (junior)- Rs. 50,000 in prize money).

Special awards will also be given to captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and ace spinner Harbhajan Singh, who won the Padma Shri awards in January.

Zimbabwe beat Kenya in fifth ODI

Kenya vs Zimbabwe- Fifth ODI-4 February 2009 Final result.

Kenya 199 all out ( 48.5 overs) lost to Zimababwe 203/3 ( 35 overs)

Hamilton Masakadza and Sean Williams both hit fluent half centuries as Zimbabwe romped home to a seven wicket win with 15 overs to spare in the fifth ODI against Kenya in Nairobi. With Zimbabwe already having won the first four ODI’s, the result means a Kenyan whitewash and a boost for Zimbabwe in the official rankings. They are now in 10th spot, displacing Ireland.

Kenya started off well as Otieno and Waters added fourty five for the first wicket. But after Otieno was dimissed in the ninth over, the Kenyans lost their way, and were reduced to 92/6 in the 28th over. Collins Obuya and Rajesh Bhudia allowed Kenya to post a respectable score with their seventy five run partnership for the seventh wicket.

Despite losing Keith Dabengwa and Vusimuzi Sibanda early,  Zimbabwe were able to overhaul Kenya’s total with plenty of spare. Masakadza struck a run a ball 84 with nine hits to the fence, and shared partnerships with Stuart Matsikenyeri and Sean Williams as the Kenyan attack was put to the sword.

Gestener Diamond Eagles vs Highveld Lions- 16 October- 19 October

Riding on a brilliant 93 from skipper Boeta Dippenaar, the Gestener Diamond Eagles finished at 263/8 at the end of the first day’s play at the OUTsurance Oval.

The Eagles won the toss and chose to bat, but were in early trouble as openers Con de Lange and Dean Elgar fell within six balls of each other after adding 24 for the first wicket.

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