Saturday, June 20, 2009

Sri Lanka Cruise Into World Twenty20 Final With The Help of Dilshan’s 96

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Tillakaratne Dilshan continued his prolific World Twenty20 tournament by powering Sri Lanka into an emotional final showdown after an emphatic victory over West Indies at the Oval.

The brilliant opener hit an unbeaten 96 off 57 balls, the third highest individual innings in Twenty20 international history, to help Sri Lanka cruise to a 57-runs semi-final victory.

It took his tally for the tournament to 317 runs in six matches, the most in the competition, and set up a meeting with Pakistan at Lord's on Sunday - three months after Sri Lanka's team bus was attacked by terrorists in Lahore on its way to Gaddafi Stadium for the second Test.

The finale to the competition is bound to be emotional for both sides, but particularly so Sri Lanka after several of their cricketers suffered injuries in the attack.

Playing their first major tournament since then, Sri Lanka have overcome that incident to power into the final having overcome a shaky start to post a competitive 158 for five after Chris Gayle's final over was hammered for 19 runs.

They then dismissed West Indies for 101 in just 17.4 overs with seamer Angelo Mathews claiming three wickets in the opening over while mystery spinner Ajantha Mendis delivered stunning figures of two for nine in his four overs.

But for Dilshan's brilliant innings, which included 12 fours and two sixes, Sri Lanka would have struggled to post anything like a competitive total after a surprisingly sluggish start from fellow opener Sanath Jayasuriya.

West Indies had been forced to field all-rounder Darren Sammy after strike bowler Fidel Edwards failed a fitness test on a back strain and it was a selection which was quickly justified when he conceded just nine runs in his two-over new-ball spell.

Having built a reputation as one of international cricket's most flamboyant openers, 39-year-old Jayasuriya struggled more than most with Sammy's accuracy and athleticism after West Indies won the toss and decided to bowl first.

Unable to time the ball, Jayasuriya tried two changes of bat to try and emerge from his slump but only became more frustrated as Dilshan dominated their 73-run stand off 63 balls.

The contrast between the pair was stark with Dilshan rescuing Sri Lanka after they crawled to 12 without loss after three overs to finish only one big shot short of only the second Twenty20 international century in history.

Jayasuriya scored from just 14 of the 37 deliveries he faced and it was almost a relief when he attempted to paddle sweep Dwayne Bravo and was caught at short fine leg for 24 off 37 balls.

But his dismissal was the start of a mini-collapse, which threatened Sri Lanka's ability to post even a competitive total when they lost three wickets for four runs in eight balls.

Two balls after Jayasuriya's demise, captain Kumar Sangakkara flashed to backward point and four deliveries later Mahela Jayawardene clipped Kieron Pollard off his legs to short fine leg.

At 77 for three in the 12th over, Sri Lanka's gamble to rely on their top order to score their runs and pick specialist bowlers seemed a rash one when they were restricted to only one boundary in four overs since the start of the collapse.

Chamara Silva wisely chose to spend his innings giving as much strike as he could to Dilshan, which resulted in him contributing just 11 runs to their crucial 50-run stand off 35 balls.

Dilshan responded to the stalling of their run-rate by deciding the time was ripe to step on the accelerator when all-rounder Bravo was introduced in the 17th over and hit three fours in four balls.

Silva was caught behind trying to sweep in the next over and Jehan Mubarak was brilliantly caught in the deep by Sammy in the space of eight balls to leave Dilshan and new batsman Mathews with the responsibility of attempting to guide them past 150.

Mathews played his part with an unbeaten 12 off four balls and Dilshan, facing the final ball of the innings from Gayle needing a six to reach his century, fell four runs short.

It may have been a personal disappointment but he provided the momentum for Sri Lanka, who responded with Mathews bowling Xavier Marshall, Lendl Simmons and Bravo in the first over.

From that disastrous start, any side in the world would have struggled to come close to matching Sri Lanka's total but while Gayle remained at the crease there was always a slight hope he could conjure up another surprise.

Gayle delivered as best he could, finishing unbeaten on 63 off 50 balls after hitting eight fours and two sixes but none of his team-mates were able to even reach double figures.

Starved of scoring opportunities by the accuracy of mystery spin pair Mendis and Muttiah Muralitharan, who finished with three for 29, West Indies lost six for 37 from 39 balls in a succession of increasingly desperate shots.

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SWASHBUCKLING SHAHID AFRIDI BOOK THE FINAL PLACE FOR PAK

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Afridi - stunning performance carried Pakistan through to their second successive ICC World Twenty20 final against South Africa.

Afridi's 51 provided the impetus in an oddly-paced Pakistan total of 149 for four - and he then took two for 16 in four overs of wrist-spin to help leave his opponents seven runs short at Trent Bridge, despite Jacques Kallis' 64.

The first defeat of South Africa's campaign eliminated them - the fourth time they have gone out at the semi-final stage of a major ICC tournament - and Pakistan will instead face either Sri Lanka or West Indies at Lord's on Sunday.

South Africa remain desperate to shed the 'chokers' tag now inked in against them, having left themselves too much to do against Umar Gul et al in the 'death' overs.

Pakistan lived up to their own reputation for eccentricity, in a minor way, by bizarrely leaving only three overs for their most reliable bowler Gul. But they had enough in reserve to ensure that self-inflicted disadvantage amounted only to a puzzling rather than damning statistic.

Pakistan chose to bat first on a pitch with more pace than most have had here in this competition - and less obvious assistance to spin.

Their innings, on a bright evening, was a curious stop-start affair which was nonetheless eventually vindicated.

It started at break-neck speed, Kamran Akmal blazing a succession of early boundaries despite the departure of Shahzaib Hasan for a second-ball duck when he mistimed an attempted pull at Wayne Parnell to be very well-caught by Roelof van der Merwe running back at mid-on.

Akmal and Afridi bludgeoned Pakistan's way to 43 for two after five overs, the opener gone by then when he too mispulled to be caught at mid-on off Dale Steyn.

The relaxation of fielding restrictions explained a second five overs in which Pakistan could add only 25 runs. 

But it was harder to rationalise the split of 52 in the next five and then only 29 in the last quarter, particularly because only one wicket fell in each of those sections.

Afridi had announced himself with a brutal four over mid-on off Parnell, from the first reachable delivery he received.

Akmal struck the pace of Steyn dismissively over long-off for six. But it soon became apparent his replacement Shoaib Malik was content to push the gaps to get Afridi on strike in a third-wicket stand of 67 in 10 overs.

Afridi responded with four successive off-side fours in one over from Johan Botha, who has been the slow-bowling cornerstone of South Africa's gameplan over the past two weeks but this time went for 23 runs in only half his scheduled allocation.

Afridi charged on to a 32-ball 50, only to fall immediately afterwards when he aimed a huge hit at the first of JP Duminy's off-spinners and skied a catch to short midwicket.

Malik never reached a run-a-ball tempo - and had still found the boundary only twice - before picking out long-off when he went after van der Merwe's left-arm spin.

It was therefore down to Younus Khan and Abdul Razzaq to try to rescue the 160-plus total which had seemed likely.

Graeme Smith turned to his two frontline pace bowlers for the last four overs, and they took their cue for a series of impressively well-directed yorkers.

The impression was that Pakistan had failed to make par with the bat, and South Africa still looked favourites as Kallis and Smith got their reply off to a wicketless near eight-an-over start in the first five overs.

Smith was dropped by Gul, who almost did himself a mischief when he mis-judged a skier at mid-on off Razzaq. But the South Africa captain went soon afterwards when he badly mistimed another pull and was caught and bowled by Mohammad Amir.

It was Afridi's entrance into the attack that changed the game, though.

Herschelle Gibbs and AB de Villiers were transfixed by his variations, bowled in contrasting but equally comprehensive fashion as he took two big wickets in four balls.

Kallis and Duminy responded to the loss of three team-mates for 10 runs with a stand of 61. But the increasing suspicion was that they were falling worryingly off the pace.

So it proved, despite Kallis taking advantage of a spare over from seventh bowler Fawad Alam which saw him complete a 46-ball 50 and celebrate with a straight six to add to his seven fours.

Gul's false start at the Radcliffe Road end had left him with only two more possible from the other direction.

But Kallis finally fell to the first ball of the 18th over, with an unlikely 38 still needed, when he lofted Saeed Ajmal high to long-on - where Shoaib Malik kept his cool to hang on to a tough, pressure catch.

Duminy did his best to narrow the margin, but it was always going to be too little too late for a team who had pushed perfection through the tournament yet were again found wanting when it mattered most.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

INDIA LOST EVEN THEIR LAST MATCH OF THE TOURNAMENT

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South Africa booked a semi-final ticket with a fifth successive ICC World Twenty20 victory by defeating defending champions India.

India were already out of the equation after their defeat against England at Lord's on Sunday. But if their millions of supporters were hoping for a winning response against the tournament favourites in Nottingham, they were disappointed again as their heroes could muster only 118 for eight to lose by 12 runs to the batting of AB de Villiers (63) and then a collective effort from South Africa's slow bowlers.

 

On a pitch which helped the slow bowlers all day - Ajantha Mendis held the key for Sri Lanka against New Zealand this afternoon - South Africa's exponents were superior.

Their combined spin-bowling figures were 9-0-32-5, to India's 14-0-75-4 - and that was more than enough to decide the outcome and ensure Graeme Smith's men will face Pakistan here in the last four on Thursday.

After restricting their opponents to 130 for five thanks to a hard-working performance in the field, India were exactly up with the early run rate established by their opponents - on 47 for none at the end of the six overs of powerplay.

But it was at that point Smith turned to the off-spin of Johan Botha (three for 16) for the first time, and with only his second delivery he had Gautam Gambhir caught at extra cover.

Four wickets then fell for 14 runs in 28 balls as a succession of batsmen failed to deal with spin on and pace off the ball at both ends.

Even the big-hitting Yuvraj Singh, dropped on nought when he offered a return catch to off-spinner JP Duminy, could not make the difference, and by the time he went caught behind off fast bowler Dale Steyn in the 19th over, the game was up.

After winning the toss, South Africa began the contest by losing Herschelle Gibbs to an under-edged pull on to his stumps off RP Singh in the second over, and Smith followed in the ninth when he holed out in the leg-side off Harbhajan Singh.

De Villiers found near immediate fluency, but South Africa still lost a little momentum as they added only 21 runs between the five and 10-over mark.

Their number three struck Yuvraj over extra-cover for his team's first boundary in nine overs, and added a second - his sixth in all - wide of long-on from the very next delivery to bring up a 41-ball half-century.

Despite the departure of Duminy, stumped after missing some turn from occasional left-arm orthodox Suresh Raina, De Villiers tried to up the ante, and when he skied a return catch back to Ravindra Jadeja he had made significantly more than half his team's 110 for four.

South Africa managed to add only 32 in the last five overs. But India always seemed unlikely to have an easy chase in the prevailing conditions, and so it proved.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

WEST INDIES ENDS ENGLAND’S HOPES OF REACHING INTO SEMI-FINAL

WEST England suffered another Oval heartbreak against West Indies tonight when they slumped to a narrow defeat to miss out on an ICC World Twenty20 semi-final place.

 

Set a revised target of 80 in nine overs after showers delayed West Indies' reply, they reached their victory target with four balls to spare to record their first win over England since arriving here in May.

 

Their victory was achieved with Ramnaresh Sarwan driving Ryan Sidebottom through extra cover for four to complete a match-winning partnership of 37 from 20 balls with Shivnarine Chanderpaul just as England appeared to have gained the momentum.

England's hopes of reaching only their second semi-final since being beaten in the 1992 World Cup final - the Champions Trophy was their only other last-four qualification - had been lifted by their three seamers each claiming a wicket inside the first three overs.

Andre Fletcher was caught behind top-edging an attempted pull off James Anderson, Sidebottom struck in the second over to bowl Chris Gayle with a full-length delivery and Stuart Broad struck with the first ball of the next over with Lendl Simmons being caught at third man.

Spinners Graeme Swann and Adil Rashid, surprisingly preferred to all-rounder Dimitri Mascarenhas, also claimed a wicket apiece to leave West Indies needing 29 off the final three overs to knock England out of the tournament and march on into the semi-finals.

But the know-how of West Indies' two most experienced batsmen was crucial, with Sarwan hitting two fours from Anderson's next over and Broad was similarly treated in the penultimate over to leave them needing only three from Sidebottom's final over.

Once again England's lack of firepower in the middle order had undermined their innings when they won the toss and reached 161 for six despite again struggling to hit boundaries.

Yesterday, England scored only four boundaries in the final six overs in their victory over India at Lord's, which set up today's shoot-out for a semi-final berth.

When Kevin Pietersen departed in the eighth over, fours and sixes were at a premium and Owais Shah's wristy flick for six off Jerome Taylor at the start of the 11th over was the only boundary recorded until the final two balls of the innings - a gap of 50 deliveries.

Broad ensured England registered a superior total to that of 24 hours earlier by hauling the penultimate ball of the innings through the leg-side for four and then following up by lofting a straight six off giant spinner Sulieman Benn.

Star batsman Pietersen was called to the crease in the second over after opener Luke Wright launched Kieron Pollard high in the air and was caught by wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin, who sprinted all the way to mid-wicket.

Pietersen signalled his arrival by pulling his first ball for four and followed it with a lap to fine leg off the next delivery and he hit two more boundaries when seamer Taylor was introduced in the fifth over.

West Indies captain Gayle attempted to disrupt the rhythm with numerous bowling changes, with half a dozen bowlers being employed in the first half of the innings.

One of the changes coincided with a breakthrough as Pietersen, whose exquisite timing and placement suggested he was on course for only his third Twenty20 international half-century, top-edged a sweep to deep square-leg off Simmons' medium pace for 31.

Even with Pietersen back on the bench, England should have recorded a far bigger total, with opener Ravi Bopara showing his increasing aptitude for this format with his first Twenty20 international half-century.

Bopara hammered 55 off 47 balls to lay the platform for a late assault but once again the hosts struggled to build on a promising start, although they were not helped when the first of the showers halted play in the 17th over with England on 129 for four.

Their inability to find boundaries once again proved costly, however, and, until Broad's late assault from the final few deliveries, England threatened a far more modest target.

By the time the rain had ceased to allow West Indies' abridged reply, it soon became clear it was a weakness that would end England's interest in the tournament and allow Gayle's unpredictable side to move a step closer to a remarkable World Cup triumph.

2007 T-20 CHAMPIONS ARE OUT OF 2009 T-20 WORLD CUP

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England knocked defending champions India out of the World Twenty20 tournament with a nerve-jangling three-run victory at Lord's.

Paul Collingwood's men  could only score 153-7 when asked to bat first, but a superb bowling and fielding effort saw India fall just short.

Despite a fine late stand between skipper MS Dhoni and Yusuf Pathan India fell just three runs short on 150-5 and, after losing their Super Eights opener against West Indies, they now cannot make the semi-finals.

As well as dumping out the defending champions, England kept their campaign alive and they will now face West Indies in 24 hours' time with Monday's clash being a straight shoot-out for a semi-final spot.

After losing Luke Wright in the second over, Kevin Pietersen and Ravi Bopara added 71 before the latter was bowled by 20-year-old spinner Ravi Jadeja for a run-a-ball 27.

Pietersen also fell to Jadeja (2-26), as he was trapped lbw just a ball after clubbing the youngster high into the stands, leaving the hosts on 92-3.

England's innings stalled as a result, with Dimitri Mascarenhas unable to get going after being promoted up the order and sent in at number four, and runs came exclusively in ones ands twos.

Owais Shah perished in the deep for 12 when he finally tried a big shot, and skipper Collingwood went for five in the penultimate over when trying a reverse dab against Zaheer Khan.

Harbhajan Singh then took two wickets in two balls, of James Foster and Graeme Swann, to restrict England to just 153-7, which looked a small target to defend.

The re-called Ryan Sidebottom got an early breakthrough as Rohit Sharma chopped on in the second over for 12, and he then removed Suresh Raina as he finally succumbed to the barrage of short balls by finding Wright out at deep mid-wicket.

Young Jadeja came in at four, but he and Gautam Gambhir struggled to keep up with the asking rate, and when Gambhir went in the 11th over India were on just 62-3.

Danger-man Yuvraj Singh came in and smacked his first ball for six off Swann to signal his intent and also signal that the victory target was still well in sight.

The 14th over proved crucial, as just after Yuvraj had slugged a second six Jadeja tried the same only for Broad to pluck a fine catch out of the air right on the fence.

Three balls later and Yuvraj was heading back to the pavilion for 17 after some excellent work from wicket-keeper Foster, who showed lightning quick hands to stump the Indian after he had over-balanced out of his crease when missing a Swann delivery.

Dhoni and Pathan gave it everything, taking 11 from the 17th and 18th overs to leave 29 from 18 balls to win, and that came down to 19 off the last after Broad had gone for just nine in the penultimate over - although he did fluff a sitter of a run-out chance.

Perhaps showing that the duo should have come in earlier, Pathan hacked a straight six off the fourth ball to leave nine required from two, but Sidebottom came back with a superb Yorker for a single.

Dhoni reached the fence off the last ball but it was too late and champions India saw their title defence end far too prematurely after losing a three-run thriller.

PAKISTAN BEATS IRELAND BY 39 RUNS

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Ireland departed the World Twenty20 after a 39-run defeat by Pakistan at the Oval.

 

Ireland team restricted Pakistan to 159 for five .

Paul Stirling, 18, and the more established Kevin O'Brien attempted some adventure against the new ball but the entire team managed only six boundaries between them. They lost only two wickets in the opening 13 overs but, after captain Porterfield succumbed for 40, they collapsed in a heap.

Once again it was Umar Gul who seized the initiative for Pakistan, following his extraordinary figures of five for six against New Zealand on the same ground this past weekend.

Fast bowler Gul, whose exploits on Saturday sparked an approach from the Black Caps to the match officials to check the legality of the methods by which he obtained reverse swing, was rewarded once again for his ability to send down searing yorkers at will.

New Zealand accepted the match officials' view they had seen nothing to arouse suspicion.

There was no repeat of the carnage he inflicted on the Kiwis but the runs simply dried up as the Irish slipped from 87 for two to 120 for nine.

Gul hit the timber three times - one effort was redundant as it was from a free hit - as Ireland's hitters Trent Johnston and Andrew White were meekly tamed.

With Ireland's batsmen therefore forced to have a dash at the other end, off-spinner Saeed Ajmal profited with four for 19.

Pakistan now head Group F and, with a superior net run-rate to rivals Sri Lanka and New Zealand, will proceed to the semi-finals despite a slow start to the tournament.

Kamran Akmal shaped their innings with a composed 57, from 51 deliveries, but the Irish put in another impressive display with the ball to restrict the total on a good batting surface.

No other batsman managed more than 24 and regular wickets from the final over of the powerplay onwards limited the potential damage.

Warwickshire pace bowler Boyd Rankin produced a brilliant display and, although he went wicketless, his figures of 4-0-11-0 are likely to remain among the best in 20-over internationals for some time to come.

When Akmal and opening partner Shahzaib Hasan launched sixes in the fourth over, off Australian-born Johnston, Pakistan would have been eyeing a more comprehensive score.

But youngster Shahzaib lofted straight to mid-off to give seamer Alex Cusack - who took four wickets against Sri Lanka yesterday - an early success.

And off-spinner Kyle McCallan was twice rewarded for his disciplined approach by having big hitters Shahid Afridi and Misbah-ul-Haq miscue.

Akmal, meanwhile, was yorked by the off-colour Johnston in the 17th over as Younis Khan's team were restricted to 80 runs in the second half of the innings.

Akmal's opposite number, wicketkeeper Niall O'Brien, passed a late fitness test to take his place for Ireland in their final Super Eights contest at this tournament.

Northamptonshire's O'Brien, 27, has been dogged by an ankle injury throughout the past week and worsened the condition during yesterday's nine-run defeat by the Sri Lankans.

Ireland - needing a landslide win to resuscitate any hopes of reaching the last four - therefore made only one change, with teenager Stirling making his Twenty20 international debut in place of Andre Botha.

IRELAND LOSTS THE MATCH BY 9 RUNS AGAINST SRILANKA

Ireland provided a surprise performance against Sri Lanka with a major scare before facing a nine-run defeat in today's World Twenty20 match at Lord's.

 

Ireland gave Sri Lanka as many difficulties as any team in the competition has managed, by restricting them to a modest 144 for nine.

However Ireland then slipped to 135 for seven in reply after a 59-run opening stand.

Srilanka were given a flying start to the match by removing Tillakaratne Dilshan, the second highest run-scorer of the tournament, off the second ball.

Dilshan  became one of four victims for wicketkeeper Niall O'Brien, the wicket going to seamer Boyd Rankin.

Dilshan's early departure was quickly followed by that of captain Kumar Sangakkara, brilliantly caught stood up to the stumps by O'Brien off seamer Trent Johnston to leave Sri Lanka struggling on 14 for two.

Mahela Jayawardene then teamed up with 39-year-old opener Sanath Jayasuriya in a 67-run stand, which came from 49 balls and eventually proved crucial.

The pair were forced to start slowly and Sri Lanka were restricted to 28 for two at the end of the six overs of fielding restrictions - easily their worst start of the tournament - but they accelerated quickly and their stand included a spell of 37 runs off three overs.

But just as Sri Lanka looked to accelerate, Kyle McCallan's off-spin won an lbw decision against Jayasuriya, who fell for 27 off 27 balls, and no other batsman was able to keep man-of-the-match Jayawardene company for long enough to build a more testing target.

Jayawardene, without a half-century previously in the tournament, did his best to maintain Sri Lanka's momentum and hit nine fours and a six in his superbly-judged innings of 78.

But Sri Lanka suffered as their final five wickets fell for 14 runs in only 16 balls.

Seamer Alex Cusack was the Irish inspiration for that flurry of wickets, claiming four for 13 in 13 balls including bowling Jayawardene.

Facing a lesser target than they would possibly have expected, Ireland were given a solid start with a new opening partnership of captain William Porterfield and Niall O'Brien enjoying a half-century stand.

O'Brien, who missed the New Zealand defeat with a right ankle problem, aggravated the injury after being sent back for a quick single and received treatment for several minutes before continuing.

But once Porterfield fell, caught behind attempting to cut Muttiah Muralitharan, Ireland's challenge faltered and they lost five wickets for 19 runs in only 23 balls.

Wicketkeeper O'Brien battled until the 15th over with his ankle problems to hit 31 off 37 balls before becoming one of two victims for Ajantha Mendis as Sri Lanka's two main spinners strangled Ireland's reply by conceding only 35 runs in their eight overs.

Fast bowler Lasith Malinga effectively finished off Ireland's challenge with wickets in successive balls, although John Mooney hit an aggressive 31 off 21 balls to keep Ireland challenging until the final over.