India left-armers Ashish Nehra and Yuvraj Singh shared six wickets on Friday to take their team to a six wicket win over New Zealand and a place in the Tri-series final against hosts Sri Lanka.
After dismissing New Zealand for 155 from 46.3 overs, India reached their target in the 41st over.
Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (35 not out) and Suresh Raina (45 not out) shared an unbroken 72-run stand for the fifth wicket after they had lost their first four wickets for 84. Sachin Tendulkar contributed 46 off 55 balls.
New Zealand, who won the toss, failed to find any momentum.
Man-of-the-match Nehra trapped openers Jessie Ryder and Brendon McCullum lbw off successive overs with McCullum's dismissal giving him his 100th wicket in one-day internationals.
After the initial damage had been done by Nehra, the left-arm spin of Yuvraj crippled the New Zealand middle order. Yuvraj ended with figures of three for 31 and Nehra with three for 24.
India will play Sri Lanka in their second match on Saturday in what will be a dress rehearsal for Monday's final.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Thursday, September 10, 2009
ICC announces schedule of warm-up matches ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy
The ICC has announced the schedule of warm-up matches to be played in the lead-up to the ICC Champions Trophy to be staged at The Wanderers and Centurion from 22 September to 5 October.
The matches will be played on 18 and 20 September in Potchefstroom, Benoni and Pretoria. In line with previous ICC events none of these matches will carry official ODI status.
On 18 September, South Africa takes on the West Indies in Potchefstroom and Pakistan faces South Asian rival Sri Lanka at Willowmoore Park, Benoni. Both the matches will be day/night fixtures and will start at 1430 (SA time).
In the other match of the day, which will start at 0930 (SA time), New Zealand plays the Warriors (Eastern Cape franchise team of Cricket South Africa) at LC de Villiers Oval, University of Pretoria.
On 20 September, India plays New Zealand in Potchefstroom and Pakistan takes on the Warriors at Willowmoore Park in two day/night fixtures while Sri Lanka meets the West Indies in a day game at LC de Villiers Oval.
The matches will be played on 18 and 20 September in Potchefstroom, Benoni and Pretoria. In line with previous ICC events none of these matches will carry official ODI status.
On 18 September, South Africa takes on the West Indies in Potchefstroom and Pakistan faces South Asian rival Sri Lanka at Willowmoore Park, Benoni. Both the matches will be day/night fixtures and will start at 1430 (SA time).
In the other match of the day, which will start at 0930 (SA time), New Zealand plays the Warriors (Eastern Cape franchise team of Cricket South Africa) at LC de Villiers Oval, University of Pretoria.
On 20 September, India plays New Zealand in Potchefstroom and Pakistan takes on the Warriors at Willowmoore Park in two day/night fixtures while Sri Lanka meets the West Indies in a day game at LC de Villiers Oval.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Sangakkara praises combined effort of teammates
Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara showered encomiums on his teammates after they scored a comprehensive 97-run win over New Zealand in the first ODI of the Compaq Cup tri-series here today.
Hosts Sri Lanka put up a brilliant all round show as they folded Kiwis innings for just 119 after putting up 216 on the board.
Thilan Samaraweera (104) and Anjello Mathews (51) starred with bat while Lasith Malinga and Nuwan Kulasekara did well with the ball.
"When you lose three wickets in the first six seven overs it is always difficult but it was magnificent recovery specially by Samaraweera, who clawed his way back to the one-day side.
"It shows how good he is and what a solid batsman can do when chips are down," he said after the match.
"And Mathews along with Samaraweera showed a huge amount of character and then fast bowlers and spinners did everything right," he added.
Sangakkara also praised his pace trio.
"Thilan Thushara, Nuwan Kulasekara and Lasith Malinga have now taken over the responsibility of putting in match winning performances day in and day out.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
New Zealand beaten fair and square by Sri Lanka
When restricted to 216, it seemed a tight contest on the cards for Sri Lanka, but instead it proved too much for the Black Caps. New Zealand were all out for 119, thus by giving the home side a huge victory in the inaugural match of the Compaq Cup in the R Premadasa Stadium.
Thilan Samaraweera was the batting mainstay of the Sri Lankan innings, surpassing his highest ever score in ODIs, in the way posting his first ever hundred which enabled a big way in ensuring the victory of his country. Lasith Malinga later followed it up with a superlative bowling performance which saw 3 wickets fall in a single over that too of important batsmen.
In-form Brendon McCullum, Jacob Oram then Nathan McCullum all fell in the 19th over bowled by the slinging action bowler and from there onwards, it was downhill for the visiting side.
Such was the magnitude of Sri Lanka's victory, that in a tri-series like this, they have incurred the all too important bonus point also. But the early stages of the match, did not give any indication of all the happenings in the evening.
When Sri Lanka were restricted to 216, it seemed a tight contest was on the cards, sending the smattering of spectators home early. Sri Lanka's innings had been resurrected from 69 for 5 by Samaraweera and Angelo Mathews, but New Zealand never recovered after Sri Lanka's fast bowlers sliced through the order.
Within 29 balls, Jesse Ryder (0), Martin Guptill (3) and Ross Taylor (2) were left brooding in the dressing room. New Zealand's shot at victory had been squashed and any self-belief that lingered after the Tests now vanished.
Malinga was a revelation with the ball when your top order has been blown away, and what followed was stunning. With his first three overs, comprising deliveries on all sorts of lengths, Malinga kept the batsmen tied down. The fourth was something out of a shooting gallery. Brendon McCullum had run the risk of being arrested for loitering as he squeezed 14 from 51 balls before Malinga rattled his stumps. Two deliveries later Malinga held back his length and drew an edge off Jacob Oram's bat to Kumar Sangakkara. With his next ball, Malinga hurled down a corker that went right through debutant Nathan McCullum.
At 41 for 6 in the 19th over, this game was as good as done. The only batsmen to cross 14 were Grant Elliott, with a brave 41, and Ian Butler, whose efforts lessened the margin of defeat. Completing the rout with another yorker was Malinga, whose aggressive bowling had undoubtedly been fuelled by Samaraweera's inspirational batting.
Samaraweera, whose highest ODI score coming into this match was 38 not out, teamed up with Mathews and averted a meek surrender with a 127-run association from 134 balls. The pair combined exceptional running between the wickets with some fireworks to help Sri Lanka reach a total that looked remote when they began.
Conventional wisdom and statistics at the Premadasa suggest strongly you bat first in day-night matches, and when Sangakkara won the toss it was greeted with loud cheers as the crowd anticipated a quick start. But this was an unusual two-paced track that didn't encourage for blazing shots and Sri Lanka slipped to 22 for 3.
There were only two boundaries by the half-way mark - both inside the first three overs - and a run rate of 2.72 indicated how much Sri Lanka had struggled. Almost immediately, Samaraweera and Mathews began to build some momentum, unfazed by the nature of the track and energetically hunting for scoring possibilities. A boundaryless streak, lasting 143 deliveries, was soon snapped.
Vettori has a tough match ahead of him against India, who are keen to wrist the No. 1 spot in One-Dayers. The only hope seems to be look forward to a new pitch.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Team India looks to break finals jinx in Lanka
Having led India to many great victories since donning the captain's mantle, Mahendra Singh Dhoni has another chance to ink his name in the record books when the team begins the new season with the tri-series in Sri Lanka.
India have the opportunity to clinch their first final in a multi-nation event in almost 11 years in the island nation when they take on the hosts and New Zealand in the ODI event at the R Premadasa stadium in Colombo from September 9-14.
India had last won the final of a major one-day event on Lankan soil in 1998 and then shared the rain-marred ICC Champions Trophy with the hosts in 2002.
The team rode on twin centuries from openers Sachin Tendulkar and Saurav Ganguly, now retired, to defeat the home side, led by another ex-player Arjuna Ranatunga and clinch the Singer-Akai Nidahas Trophy eleven years ago. Incidentally that tri-series also featured New Zealand.
Since then India have participated in five multi-national tournaments (excluding the abandoned Unitech Cup in 2006) but have failed to break the summit clash jinx.
They have finished on the losing side to the hosts on all other occassions.
Since winning the triangular event in 1998, India have taken part in 12 multinational ODI tournaments, barring the abandoned Unitech Cup in Sri Lanka in 2006, in the Indian sub-continent. But their record in these finals has hardly been impressive.
The team emerged joint winners in two tournaments -ICC Champions Trophy in 2002 and the 2003 TVS Cup in Bangladesh - by sharing the top prize with Lanka and South Africa respectively.
On seven occasions, India have finished second-best, while crashing out of the tournament thrice in the league stage itself.
However, Dhoni's team has gradually gained a reputation of not being bogged down by history and past baggage, as is expected from a team that hit a purple patch with five consecutive bilateral ODI series truimphs.
What will boost the squad's morale further is that three of these five recent series triumphs have come against the two opponents it will face in the tri series.
India have not only defeated Sri Lanka in their own backyard twice in the past two years, but also humiliated the Kiwis in New Zealand earlier this year.
A win in the tri-series will not only add another feather to Dhoni's cap, but may also act as a balm for the cricket-mad fans who have not forgiven the team for its below-par display in the T20 World Cup in England in June.
India have the opportunity to clinch their first final in a multi-nation event in almost 11 years in the island nation when they take on the hosts and New Zealand in the ODI event at the R Premadasa stadium in Colombo from September 9-14.
India had last won the final of a major one-day event on Lankan soil in 1998 and then shared the rain-marred ICC Champions Trophy with the hosts in 2002.
The team rode on twin centuries from openers Sachin Tendulkar and Saurav Ganguly, now retired, to defeat the home side, led by another ex-player Arjuna Ranatunga and clinch the Singer-Akai Nidahas Trophy eleven years ago. Incidentally that tri-series also featured New Zealand.
Since then India have participated in five multi-national tournaments (excluding the abandoned Unitech Cup in 2006) but have failed to break the summit clash jinx.
They have finished on the losing side to the hosts on all other occassions.
Since winning the triangular event in 1998, India have taken part in 12 multinational ODI tournaments, barring the abandoned Unitech Cup in Sri Lanka in 2006, in the Indian sub-continent. But their record in these finals has hardly been impressive.
The team emerged joint winners in two tournaments -ICC Champions Trophy in 2002 and the 2003 TVS Cup in Bangladesh - by sharing the top prize with Lanka and South Africa respectively.
On seven occasions, India have finished second-best, while crashing out of the tournament thrice in the league stage itself.
However, Dhoni's team has gradually gained a reputation of not being bogged down by history and past baggage, as is expected from a team that hit a purple patch with five consecutive bilateral ODI series truimphs.
What will boost the squad's morale further is that three of these five recent series triumphs have come against the two opponents it will face in the tri series.
India have not only defeated Sri Lanka in their own backyard twice in the past two years, but also humiliated the Kiwis in New Zealand earlier this year.
A win in the tri-series will not only add another feather to Dhoni's cap, but may also act as a balm for the cricket-mad fans who have not forgiven the team for its below-par display in the T20 World Cup in England in June.
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