IPL Schedule 2011

IPL 2011 Schedule for upcoming IPL Season 4 has been announced by BCCI. The contest will be played just after days of Cricket World Cup tournament finish.

IPL T20 is one of the biggest event tournaments of the sports world. It is played every year in the summer season of Indian Subcontinent.

Remember this is just conditional schedule, pending approval from Election Commission of India because Tamil Nadu and West Bengal will be having State Elections in the same period.

Date	Time	No	Match Details	venue
8-Apr-11	20:00	1st	Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders, 1st IPL	Chennai
9-Apr-11	16:00	2nd	Deccan Chargers vs Rajasthan Royals, 2nd IPL	Hyderabad
9-Apr-11	20:00	3rd	Kochi Tuskers Kerala vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, 3rd IPL	Kochi
10-Apr-11	16:00	4th	Delhi Daredevils vs Mumbai Indians, 4th IPL	Delhi
10-Apr-11	20:00	5th	Pune Warriors vs Kings XI Punjab, 5th IPL	Navi Mumbai
11-Apr-11	20:00	6th	Kolkata Knight Riders vs Deccan Chargers, 6th IPL	Kolkata
12-Apr-11	16:00	7th	Rajasthan Royals vs Delhi Daredevils, 7th IPL	Jaipur
12-Apr-11	20:00	8th	Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Mumbai Indians, 8th IPL	Bangalore
13-Apr-11	16:00	9th	Kings XI Punjab vs Chennai Super Kings, 9th IPL	Mohali
13-Apr-11	20:00	10th	Pune Warriors vs Kochi Tuskers Kerala, 10th IPL	Navi Mumbai
14-Apr-11	20:00	11th	Deccan Chargers vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, 11th IPL	Hyderabad
15-Apr-11	16:00	12th	Rajasthan Royals vs Kolkata Knight Riders, 12th IPL	Jaipur
15-Apr-11	20:00	13th	Mumbai Indians vs Kochi Tuskers Kerala, 13th IPL	Hyderabad
16-Apr-11	16:00	14th	Chennai Super Kings vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, 14th IPL	Chennai
16-Apr-11	20:00	15th	Deccan Chargers vs Kings XI Punjab, 15th IPL	Hyderabad
17-Apr-11	16:00	16th	Pune Warriors vs Delhi Daredevils, 16th IPL	Navi Mumbai
17-Apr-11	20:00	17th	Kolkata Knight Riders vs Rajasthan Royals, 17th IPL	Kolkata
18-Apr-11	20:00	18th	Kochi Tuskers Kerala vs Chennai Super Kings, 18th IPL	Kochi
19-Apr-11	16:00	19th	Delhi Daredevils vs Deccan Chargers, 19th IPL	Delhi
19-Apr-11	20:00	20th	Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Rajasthan Royals, 20th IPL	Bangalore
20-Apr-11	16:00	21st	Mumbai Indians vs Pune Warriors, 21st IPL	Mumbai
20-Apr-11	20:00	22nd	Kolkata Knight Riders vs Kochi Tuskers Kerala, 22nd IPL	Kolkata
21-Apr-11	20:00	23rd	Kings XI Punjab vs Rajasthan Royals, 23rd IPL	Mohali
22-Apr-11	16:00	24th	Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, 24th IPL	Kolkata
22-Apr-11	20:00	25th	Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings, 25th IPL	Mumbai
23-Apr-11	20:00	26th	Delhi Daredevils vs Kings XI Punjab, 26th IPL	Delhi
24-Apr-11	16:00	27th	Deccan Chargers vs Mumbai Indians, 27th IPL	Hyderabad
24-Apr-11	20:00	28th	Rajasthan Royals vs Kochi Tuskers Kerala, 28th IPL	Jaipur
25-Apr-11	20:00	29th	Chennai Super Kings vs Pune Warriors, 29th IPL	Chennai
26-Apr-11	20:00	30th	Delhi Daredevils vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, 30th IPL	Delhi
27-Apr-11	16:00	31st	Pune Warriors vs Chennai Super Kings, 31st IPL	Navi Mumbai
27-Apr-11	20:00	32nd	Kochi Tuskers Kerala vs Deccan Chargers, 32nd IPL	Kochi
28-Apr-11	20:00	33rd	Delhi Daredevils vs Kolkata Knight Riders, 33rd IPL	Delhi
29-Apr-11	16:00	34th	Rajasthan Royals vs Mumbai Indians, 34th IPL	Jaipur
29-Apr-11	20:00	35th	Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Pune Warriors, 35th IPL	Bangalore
30-Apr-11	16:00	36th	Kochi Tuskers Kerala vs Delhi Daredevils, 36th IPL	Kochi
30-Apr-11	20:00	37th	Kolkata Knight Riders vs Kings XI Punjab, 37th IPL	Kolkata
1-May-11	16:00	38th	Rajasthan Royals vs Pune Warriors, 38th IPL	Jaipur
1-May-11	20:00	39th	Chennai Super Kings vs Deccan Chargers, 39th IPL	Chennai
2-May-11	16:00	40th	Mumbai Indians vs Kings XI Punjab, 40th IPL	Mumbai
2-May-11	20:00	41st	Delhi Daredevils vs Kochi Tuskers Kerala, 41st IPL	Delhi
3-May-11	20:00	42nd	Deccan Chargers vs Kolkata Knight Riders, 42nd IPL	Hyderabad
4-May-11	16:00	43rd	Chennai Super Kings vs Rajasthan Royals, 43rd IPL	Chennai
4-May-11	20:00	44th	Pune Warriors vs Mumbai Indians, 44th IPL	Navi Mumbai
5-May-11	16:00	45th	Kochi Tuskers Kerala vs Kolkata Knight Riders, 45th IPL	Kochi
5-May-11	20:00	46th	Deccan Chargers vs Delhi Daredevils, 46th IPL	Hyderabad
6-May-11	20:00	47th	Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kings XI Punjab, 47th IPL	Bangalore
7-May-11	16:00	48th	Kolkata Knight Riders vs Chennai Super Kings, 48th IPL	Kolkata
7-May-11	20:00	49th	Mumbai Indians vs Delhi Daredevils, 49th IPL	Mumbai
8-May-11	16:00	50th	Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kochi Tuskers Kerala, 50th IPL	Bangalore
8-May-11	20:00	51st	Kings XI Punjab vs Pune Warriors, 51st IPL	Mohali
9-May-11	20:00	52nd	Rajasthan Royals vs Chennai Super Kings, 52nd IPL	Jaipur
10-May-11	16:00	53rd	Deccan Chargers vs Pune Warriors, 53rd IPL	Hyderabad
10-May-11	20:00	54th	Kings XI Punjab vs Mumbai Indians, 54th IPL	Mohali
11-May-11	20:00	55th	Rajasthan Royals vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, 55th IPL	Jaipur
12-May-11	20:00	56th	Chennai Super Kings vs Delhi Daredevils, 56th IPL	Chennai
13-May-11	20:00	57th	Kochi Tuskers Kerala vs Kings XI Punjab, 57th IPL	Indore
14-May-11	16:00	58th	Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kolkata Knight Riders, 58th IPL	Bangalore
14-May-11	20:00	59th	Mumbai Indians vs Deccan Chargers, 59th IPL	Mumbai
15-May-11	20:00	60th	Kings XI Punjab vs Delhi Daredevils, 60th IPL	Dharmasala
15-May-11	20:00	61st	Kochi Tuskers Kerala vs Rajasthan Royals, 61st IPL	Indore
16-May-11	20:00	62nd	Pune Warriors vs Deccan Chargers, 62nd IPL	Navi Mumbai
17-May-11	20:00	63rd	Kings XI Punjab vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, 63rd IPL	Dharmasala
18-May-11	20:00	64th	Chennai Super Kings vs Kochi Tuskers Kerala, 64th IPL	Chennai
19-May-11	20:00	65th	Pune Warriors vs Kolkata Knight Riders, 65th IPL	Navi Mumbai
20-May-11	20:00	66th	Mumbai Indians vs Rajasthan Royals, 66th IPL	Mumbai
21-May-11	16:00	67th	Kings XI Punjab vs Deccan Chargers, 67th IPL	Dharmasala
21-May-11	20:00	68th	Delhi Daredevils vs Pune Warriors, 68th IPL	Delhi
22-May-11	16:00	69th	Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Chennai Super Kings, 69th IPL	Bangalore
22-May-11	20:00	70th	Kolkata Knight Riders vs Mumbai Indians, 70th IPL	Kolkata
24-May-11	20:00	71st	TBC vs TBC, Qualifier 1 IPL	Mumbai
25-May-11	20:00	72nd	TBC vs TBC, Eliminator IPL	Mumbai
27-May-11	20:00	73rd	TBC vs TBC, Qualifier 2 IPL	Chennai
28-May-11	20:00	Final	TBC vs TBC, Final IPL	Chennai

World Cup 2011: Sri Lanka Beat New Zealand

Sri Lanka overcame a late challenge from New Zealand to win by 5 wickets and reach the Cricket World Cup final as Muttiah Muralitharan added to his record one-day wicket total in his last match on home soil.Muralitharan took two wickets, including that of the Kiwi’s top-scorer Scott Styris (57) with his last ball, and was applauded before and after the match Tuesday by the sellout crowd at the 36,000-capacity Premadasa Stadium. Lasith Malinga and Ajantha Mendis each claimed three wickets as New Zealand was restricted to 217 in Colombo. Sri Lanka scored 220-5 with 13 balls remaining as Thilan Samaraweera hit the winning runs with a boundary off Andy McKay.

“It’s my last game and I got a wicket with my last ball,” Muralitharan said as he left the field with figures of 2-42. “The same thing happened to me in Test cricket so I’m very happy.”

Sri Lanka, the 1996 champion, moves to the final in Mumbai on April 2, where it will meet the winner of today’s match between archrivals India and Pakistan in Mohali, India.

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India game is a mini-final - Tim Nielsen

Tim Nielsen, Australia's coach, has said his team were hoping to meet India in the final of the World Cup, and would be treating their quarter-final against the tournament co-hosts in Ahmedabad on Thursday as a "mini-grand final". He said he was aware the atmosphere at Motera would be electric, and his players were looking forward to that.

"The adrenaline will certainly be flowing and playing in front of their home crowd in Ahmedabad will be exciting and a challenge for us," Nielsen said. "We've got no fear now; we know we're in the knockout stage.

"It's exciting … a mini-grand final in itself. If you came here and thought, 'What would be the best result? It would be great to make the final against India'. Well, we've got our final against India in the next few days. I'm sure if we're on our game, they won't necessarily be looking forward to playing against us. That's something in our favour."

India have played Australia in 15 one-dayers at home in the last five years, and Australia have won nine of those matches. Both teams have lost a game each in the group stages of this World Cup, and though India will be hoping home advantage can buoy them to a victory, Nielsen warned it could also be a hindrance to them.

Nielsen said he remembered the pressure Australia faced when they played the World Cup at home in 1992, and said things would be no different for India. "It's [playing at home] a huge factor for them. There's some pressure there and if we can start the game well and maybe quieten the crowd that will play on the mind of the Indian team."

The attention on India will also help lessen the hype that usually surrounds any Australian team at a World Cup. This time around, the defending champions are not the out-and-out favourites to win the tournament, and the end of their unbeaten World Cup streak, against Pakistan in Colombo, has further lessened the aura of the side. Nielsen looks at that as an advantage, saying all the pressure was on India.

''The media and the public scrutiny will also be so great that you'd expect India to have most of the pressure on them. They will be answering all the questions; there'll be questions about the surface we play on, there'll be questions about their line-up. It would be nice to think we can sneak under the radar a bit and just go about our preparation over the next few days and be as ready to go as we can be."

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Yuvraj stars as India finish second

Oh West Indies, they have done it again. For the second match in a row they had a chase all wrapped up but some desperate inspiration from Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh and some mindless cricket from the batsmen who followed Devon Smith ensured that West Indies remained without a win over a Test side other than Bangladesh since June 2009. With Smith playing as well as he has ever played, West Indies almost mocked India for the first 27 overs, getting up to 146 for 2 without a care in the world. Then came a maiden by Harbhajan and a wicked Zaheer slower ball to remove Smith, and West Indies lost the last eight wickets for 34.

That collapse outdid India's own - 7 for 50 - that had threatened to undo Yuvraj Singh's century on a track whose bounce West Indies and Ravi Rampaul exploited, but not to the fullest. Rampaul, the hero of West Indies' last win against a major side, took his first five-for in ODIs on his World Cup debut to hurt the start, the middle and the end of the Indian innings. However, West Indies' insistence on opening the bowling with Sulieman Benn despite the helpful track, and the obvious plan of trying to bounce India out meant they couldn't capitalise on a first over that claimed Sachin Tendulkar. Then there was Yuvraj, with his maiden World Cup century, fighting dehydration, vomiting on the field, and then coming back to take two wickets.

The game might have ended in a whimper, but it began explosively. As they successfully did in the last two World Twenty20s, West Indies came out with bouncers for India. Inside the first 11 overs, two deliveries bounced over the keeper's head for byes, two batsmen got out to deliveries dug in short, one was dropped off another short delivery, but Benn went for 21 off his three overs to ease the pressure. To make matters worse Darren Sammy dropped Yuvraj twice, chances not easy but not impossible, at 9 and 13.

Working with Yuvraj was Virat Kohli, for whom it was almost a homecoming to bat at No. 3 in the absence of the injured Virender Sehwag. In familiar environs of not having to score at a strike-rate of 150, Kohli did just what was required on a tough pitch after a tough start, scoring 59 off 76, letting Yuvraj take the majority of the strike in a 122-run partnership, after the two had come together at 51 for 2.

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England stay alive in another thriller

In a campaign of ludicrously slender margins, England gave themselves a fighting chance of reaching the World Cup quarter-finals after emerging victorious by 18 runs in a monstrous battle of wills against West Indies at Chennai. In a contest that fully lived up to the "arse-nipper" billing that Graeme Swann had given it beforehand, England once again teetered on the brink of oblivion before the spin of Swann and James Tredwell hauled them back into contention in a sensational denouement. Needing 244 for victory, West Indies were coasting on 222 for 6, before losing their last four wickets for three runs in 20 deliveries.

It was a finale that would have been remarkable in any other context, but coming from a team that has managed to turn each of its six qualifying fixtures into horror-shows best viewed from behind the sofa through cracks in the fingers, it was a conclusion that teetered towards self-parody. Following a schizophrenic batting performance, in which Jonathan Trott shed his demure image to crash six fours from his first nine balls, England themselves crashed from 121 for 2 to 151 for 6, before Luke Wright justified his first call-up of the campaign with a vital 44. Their eventual total was at least 30 runs below par, but not for the first time, the team's fighting spirit made up for it lacked in planning and application.

West Indies' reply was a tale of three cameos. Between them, Chris Gayle and Darren Sammy slammed 84 runs from 50 balls, while Andre Russell launched his own innings with 45 from 29 before going into his shell after a hugely controversial reprieve on the long-on boundary. While those three were cutting loose, aided and abetted by a string of silent partners, not least the obstinate Ramnaresh Sarwan, it was clear that England had no option but to take all ten wickets to progress.

Cue the spinners - one whose last dew-sodden performance had resulted in an ICC fine for an audible display of petulance; the other whose solitary appearance of the winter came in a forgotten ODI at Hobart back in January. Between them Swann and Tredwell scalped seven of the first nine wickets, including three in the last 11 balls of their allocation, before a sharp throw from fine leg sealed the victory with Sulieman Benn well short.

That it was Trott who delivered the decisive throw was fitting, because it was his superb catch running round at cow corner that looked to have removed Russell for 39 and turned the contest in England's favour at 204 for 7. However, as he landed Trott's momentum slid him agonisingly close to the boundary rope, and though the fielder insisted he had taken the ball cleanly, the third umpire overturned the decision and Russell came back to the crease with six more runs to his name.

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India-Pakistan reunited!

“Ashish Bagai, Rizwan Cheema help Canada open World Cup account,” screamed the headline of a leading newspaper a day after cricketing minnows Canada overpowered Kenya to earn their maiden victory in the 2011 Cricket World Cup.



For someone who does not follow the game religiously, the names mentioned above could lead to confusion whether it is in fact Canada which the report is talking about or some team from the subcontinent.



The Canadian team has, at best, fought for survival in the ongoing multi-nation tournament as they struggled to compete against some of the biggest powerhouses of the cricket world. However, the team representing Canada in the 2011 Cricket World Cup is much more than just a bunch of inexperienced cricketers. It is, in a way, a dream come true for umpteen cricket fans.



The tragic events of 1947 that led to the partition of India also resulted in heartbreak for millions of the country’s cricket lovers. The division of the nation into India and Pakistan crushed the dreams of millions who had wished to watch some of the best cricketers play together and rule the cricket world.



Imagine what it would have been like to watch a team comprising greats like Vijay Hazare, Vinoo Mankad, Polly Umrigar, Hanif Mohammad, Mushtaq Mohammad and Intikhab Alam, who ended up playing for different countries, play together as a world beating unit.



But, Alas! It wasn’t meant to be.




As years passed by and the former greats were replaced by the new age maestros such as Sachin Tendulkar, Wasim Akram, Anil Kumble and Waqar Younis, the one question that continued to intrigue cricket followers of both the countries, remained. Can we ever have an Indo-Pak cricket team playing together?



Although the idea of watching Zaheer Khan open the bowling with Shoaib Akhtar might remain an unfulfilled dream forever, the Canadian team has in a way achieved the improbable by bringing together players from both the countries.



Ashish Bagai, who is the captain of the Canadian cricket team, was born in New Delhi on January 26, 1982 before moving to Canada at the age of 11. Bagai has a healthy average of 38 in one-day international cricket and has played the most number of ODIs by any Canadian player.



Rizwan Cheema is another mainstay of the Canadian cricket team, who traces his roots to the subcontinent. Cheema was born on 15 August, 1978 in Gujranwala, Pakistan.



A relatively new addition to the team, Harvir Singh Baidwan is a vital cog that makes the Canadian side a competitive unit. The lanky all-rounder hails from Chandigarh, India and is playing in his first World Cup.




Read more: http://www.zeenews.com/news693919.html#ixzz1GrexCR3r

Tough for India to win the World Cup Sir Vivian Richards

 “It is going to be tough for India to win the World Cup,” said Sir Vivian Richards on the Indian cricket team's chances. “Though Indians are among one of the favourites, they are struggling in their bowling department. They need many more bowlers like Shaun Tait and Dale Steyn."

The legendary former cricketer was at his cheerful best as he answered a volley of questions from the gathering at a city hotel, which ranged from his cricketing heydays to the ongoing World Cup.

Though optimistic about his own country, West Indies, he made it amply clear that the Caribbeans needed to pull up their socks fast if they were to win their next encounter against India on Sunday.

Amidst a series of questions from enthusiastic fans on the experience of the famous 1983 World Cup final, which the Kapil Dev led-Indian team won, Richards believes it was just a bad day at work. "We were not overconfident. Every team has a bad day. On the day of the finals, the weather was getting cloudier. Clive Lloyd was not completely fit for the game and credit must be given to the Indian bowlers who bowled really well on the day."

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Irish praying for South Africa 'hangover'

KOLKATA: The World Cup bandwagon has moved into Kolkata, the last of its 13 venues, and it was Ireland who got the first call at the storied Eden Gardens on Sunday afternoon, 48 hours before they take on mighty South Africa.



Having made the cricket world sit up and take notice by qualifying for the second round of the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean, Ireland kicked off their campaign in the 2011 edition with a disappointing 27-run loss to Bangladesh.



Five days later, they pulled of the biggest coup of the tournament by chasing down a World Cup-record 327 against heavyweights England. But since then the ICC's associate member nation has flattered to deceive.



With just two points in their kitty and only two matches to play, including the one against the Proteas, not even some divine intervention may help Ireland advance to the second stage this time (quarterfinals in this case, as against the Super Eights in 2007). One can imagine the Irish taming the Dutch, but do they have it in them to topple strong contenders South Africa?



"We know South Africa are one of the favourites to win this World Cup... Hopefully, they will relax a bit (on Tuesday) and give us a chance... May be they'll have a couple of hangovers (from the nail-biting last-over win against India on Saturday night)," was how 35-year-old Ireland all-rounder Andre Botha summed up their predicament before Sunday's practice session.



The Irish are coming off a 44-run defeat at the hands of the West Indies, a game in which they looked to be in business till the 37th over of their chase of 276 before completely losing the plot. "It's not just the West Indies game, we were in with a chance even against Bangladesh and India but failed to get over the line."



As Botha explained, there were no expectations from the Irish in the 2007 event as the side was made up mostly of amateur cricketers. "This time the expectations are far more, that's why it's been even more disappointing to lose those three games from good positions."



Be that as it may, the Irish players are gritting their teeth to bite hard one more time. "We know we have to win the last two games and we are not going to back out... Everyone's up for the challenge."



Brave words from one of the senior pros of the team, but whether they indeed have the class to match the Proteas is something we'll reserve our comment on for the time being.

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Fans seeking tickets lathicharged in Nagpur

Fans clamoring to buy tickets for the India-South Africa match on Saturday, March 12, were lathicharged outside the Vidarbha Cricket Association in Nagpur on Tuesday morning. (Watch)



There had been a big crowd outside the stadium since the ticket counters opened at 9am. Many people had even been waiting in line since last night.



Reports said the police had to resort to a kind lathicharge several times since morning to manage crowds at the ticket sale counter which has been closed for now.



The Nagpur stadium’s capacity is 45,000 seats, of which 26,000 seats are open for the general public and the tickets are being sold for Rs. 300, 600 and 1000.



There is heavy police deployment at the site.



Late last month, police had lathi charged thousands of fans at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore as they waited to buy tickets for the India vs England match.

Cricket World Cup 2011: Irish press in purple haze as England shocked in Bangalore

Ireland's force down have lavished praise on the heroes of Bangalore following their stunning win with England, but the news has yet to filter through to Wexford, Limerick and Galway.

"I think anyone is going to resist to beat that. I'll say that all night. 100 off 50 balls in a World Cup in front of a billion people under lights against England, it doesn't get any better.”

So said Kevin O'Brien, resplendent with purple hair, following his stunning century against England team in Bangalore on Wednesday. He is, unsurprisingly, the leading light in Ireland's broadsheets today.

Ian Callendar, the Belfast Telegraph's cricket reporter, has seen Ireland's stock rise on the international scene. He is set to get even busier after their impressive win, which features four Northern Ireland cricketers.

Meanwhile, in the same paper, Stormont's political leaders are quick to heap praise on Ireland as a celebrated achievement.

Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness said: “There are few who would have thought it probable that Ireland could have better on their achievements at the last World Cup."

"Record Breakers" is the headline the Irish Independent, who also list the XI heroes who became the toast of Bangalore.

O'Brien's brother, Ger, seems to gather most notice and he told the paper that "something gets into us when we play the English.

"I was watching and suddenly Kevin got going and turned the match benefit down. Niall and Kevin are dedicated. They were bred for it."

William Porterfield's side also lead the reporting in the Irish Examiner, who splash with "Fighting Irish stun the world".

"Memories of 2007, and comparisons with the World Cup victory over Pakistan in Jamaica will inevitably be made. But this was even better," writes Nick Royle.

Ireland's win though didn't filter through to all parts of the island. The Munster Express opts for Hurling while Gaelic Football leads the lines in the Limerick Leader. Can't win 'em all.

I learnt a lot from watching Waqar and Wasim – Malinga

Sri Lanka fast bowler, Lasith Malinga, who became the first bowler in World Cup history to take two hat-tricks, has said that he learnt to bowl his deadly yorkers by watching Pakistan's legendary pair of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. Malinga ran through the hapless Kenya batting to take a career best 6 for 38 runs, and pick up the Man-of-the-Match award, as the opposition crumbled under his assault for a mere 142 runs.

"This is a slow pitch and bouncers will not work so I decided to go for yorkers," Malinga said. "I didn't have any idea of how to bowl a yorker when I first came into the national team but I was taught how to bowl them by Champaka Ramanayake and Rumesh Ratnayake (two former Sri Lanka fast bowlers).

"I also watched Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis bowl and I learnt a lot from them."

Malinga missed his side's opening two matches with a sore back, but came back strongly to take the wickets of Tanmay Mishra, Peter Ongondo and Shem Ngoche with successive, full, swinging deliveries, with the latter two having their stumps rearranged. His hat-trick was spread over two overs - the last ball of his seventh and the first two balls of his eighth. In all, four of his six victims were bowled and the two others were trapped lbw.

In the 2007 World Cup, Malinga grabbed the headlines with four in a row against South Africa at Guyana. "I rate the performance in South Africa with four wickets in four balls as the best. But I am happy that I got six wickets today which was my career best."

Malinga stated that he could have played in the second match against Pakistan but did not on the advice of the team physio, Tommy Simsek. "I was sad and also lazy when I was not playing the first two matches. I didn't play because I was not fully recovered."

He said that he was happy to perform the way he did in front of the Sri Lankan public. "I didn't have much hopes to play for a long time when I was coming to cricket. My only aim was to contribute as much as I can to the team whenever I play for them. I will give my 100 percent in whatever the game I participate. That makes me happy.

"I have played for the national team for the past seven years. A lot of people have said that I would not be able to play for a long time (due to injury concerns). But I am happy to have played for the last seven years."

Contemplating his future the 27-year-old fast bowler said, "I don't know how long I could play, but I am happy to contribute to the team whenever I play. I believe I can still play Test cricket after considering my injury concerns. When I feel that I can't do anything for the team, I will happily retire."

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Cricket World Cup 2011: Zimbabwe v Canada, match report

Group A: Zimbabwe (298-9) beat Canada (123-9) by 175 runs

Zimbabwe jagged up their first World Cup win as they inflicted a 175-run defeat on Canada through their Group A clash at Nagpur.

Tatenda Taibu (98 off 99 balls) and Craig Ervine (85 off 81 balls) helped Zimbabwe survive a scorching start with a 181-run stand and despite Balaji Rao's four wickets, they posted a strong 298.


In reply, spin claimed all 10 Canadian wickets, as Ray cost and Graeme Cremer picked up three apiece while Prosper Utseya and Greg Lamb each grabbed a brace to bowl the minnows out for 123, leaving Zimbabwe comfortable victors with eight overs left.

Khurram Chohan got Canada off to the perfect start dispatching Brendan Taylor for a first-ball lbw and Zimbabwe were seven for two with Charles Coventry's dismissal for four.

Taibu restored arrange for his side, racing to a 46-ball 50, as he and Ervine ensured Zimbabwe cruised during the middle overs.

Ervine smashed six boundaries and two sixes before being fixed behind for 85, while Taibu was unkindly left two short of his 100, caught by John Davison, with Balaji grabbing both wickets.


Runs continued to pour, even though Canada picked up wickets steadily in the closing overs, with Elton Chigumbura (five), Sean Williams (30), Lamb (11), Utseya (22) and Cremer (26) perishing in the quest for quick runs.

Zimbabwe too chosen up early wickets with Davison bowled by Price in the second over.

The left-arm spinner tripled his compute in the sixth over, first catching Nitish Kumar - the youngest World Cup player to date - off his own bowling before having skipper Ashish Bagai wedged for a first-ball duck.

A 43-run partnership between Jimmy Hansra (20) and Ruvindu Gunasekera (24) lifted Canadian hopes but they departed in successive overs, to Utseya and Lamb in that order.

Rizwan Cheema shattered two boundaries and a six for his 14, but could not build on that, falling to Utseya, with Chohan following soon after for eight.

Zubin Surkari top scored for Canada with his 26 off 48 balls but that only delayed the inevitable.

2011 ICC Cricket World Cup: India - England Match Ends In A Tie

Cricket Update on iSport: There couldn't have been a better end to one of world cups' most thrilling match, than a tie. India and England both scored 338 in game in which both the teams just refused to give up till the very last ball was bowled.


Sehwag was dropped on the very first delivery of the match by Swann and he opened his account with boundary on the first ball. Sehwag continued to live dangerously while Sachin was rock solid at the other end. Sehwag departed with score reading 46 in the 8th over. He scored quick fired 35 of 26 deliveries (6 fours). Sachin was at his vintage best as he made England bowlers look helpless.  He took on Swann, smashing 3 sixes off him, 2 of which came in consecutive deliveries. Tendulkar paced his innings well, starting cautiously and cutting loose once he got his eye in. He scored his 47th One Day hundred off 103 balls, with a boundary off Bresnan. He was supported well by Gambhir (51 of 61, 5 fours) and Yuvraj (58 of 50, 9 fours). Sachin's magnificent innings finally came to an end when the Master Blaster was dismissed on 120(115 deliveries, 10 fours, 5 sixes). Skipper Dhoni chipped in with useful 31 of just 20 balls (3 fours and a six). India, however, collapsed in the death overs, losing 5 wickets in last 4 overs. India was bowled out for 338 in 49.5 overs. Bresnan got a 5 wicket haul, while Anderson was smashed all over the park, conceding 91 runs in 9.5 overs.


England gave a fitting reply with openers adding 68 in just 9.3 overs. It was then that Munaf Patel took an absolute blinder to get rid of the dangerous Kevin Pieterson. However, no Indian bowler looked in rhythm as Strauss kept on picking boundaries easily, almost every over. Jonathan Trott was dismissed cheaply and India felt they were in when England were at 111-2. Ian Bell, who came out at no. 4 was lucky to be given not out by the third umpire when he decided to review the decision of on-field umpire of him being judged LBW. The ball was seen clipping his stumps quite clearly in the television replays. This error caused India the match as he went on to score match defining 69(71 balls, 4 fours and 1 six) and also built crucial 170 run partnership with his captain Andrew Strauss. England looked like they would run away with match, being comfortably placed at 281-2. Then suddenly things began to change drastically. Strauss opted for batting powerplay in the 43rd over. Dhoni turned to his most experienced pacer in this hopeless situation. This paid huge dividends as Zaheer picked up Bell and Strauss on consecutive deliveries. Strauss was out on 158. In no time, England crumbled to 289-6. Runs suddenly dried up and they could score only 25 in the 2nd batting poweplay. England now hoped for a miracle to win as they needed 31 from the last 2 overs, and miracle did come in the penultimate over as Piyush Chawla was hit for two sixes in his last over. Piysuh did manage to remove Bresnan on the last ball of his spell. England now required 14 off the last over, with two tail enders, Swann and Shahzad in the middle. Munaf bowled an ordinary over being hit for a six straight over his head on the third delivery by Shahzad, and England needed just 5 runs off 3 balls. Shahzad managed to take a single of the next ball and Swann took doubles off next two deliveries. England needed two from last deliveries, but Swann could take only a single and match ended tied between two well deserving teams.

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Bangladesh Vs Ireland : Out Of the Park

DHAKA: The Group B match between Bangladesh and Ireland turned out to be a bowler-dominated one as ball failed to fractious the boundaries during the both innings at Shere Bangla Cricket Stadium on Friday.

A total of 31 boundaries and one six were hit throughout the whole match where Bangladeshi batsmen hit 18 boundaries while Ireland batters scored 13 boundaries and a six.

Bangladeshi opening batsman Tamim Iqbal hit the most number of boundaries, i.e. seven, during the match while the only six of the match was hit by Kevin O’Brien of Ireland.

For our esteemed viewers, The Sports Encounter is posting the official highlights of the total number of boundaries hit during the match compiled by the EspnStar Sports.

Cricket World Cup 2011 Shedule

Cricket is considered as a religion in India and people are crazy about Cricket, particularly in this part of the world. With ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 upcoming in the year 2011, the game would rise to new levels. If you are a Cricket fan searching for ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 timetable, Cricket World Cup 2011 fixtures, Cricket World Cup 2011 location and Cricket World Cup 2011 teams, then you need not to go somewhere else as you will get information on Cricket World Cup 2011 fixtures, Cricket World Cup 2011 venue and Cricket World Cup 2011 teams and ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 timetable and every other info about ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.

Match	Date	Teams	Venue
1	19 Feb	India vs Bangladesh	Dhaka
2	20 Feb	New Zealand vs Kenya	Chennai
3	20 Feb	Sri Lanka vs Canada	Hambantota
4	21 Feb	Australia vs Zimbabwe	Ahmedabad
5	22 Feb	England vs Netherlands	Nagpur
6	23 Feb	Pakistan vs Kenya	Hambantota
7	24 Feb	South Africa vs West Indies	New Delhi
8	25 Feb	Australia vs New Zealand	Nagpur
9	25 Feb	Bangladesh vs Ireland	Dhaka
10	26 Feb	Sri Lanka vs Pakistan	Colombo
11	27 Feb	India vs England	Kolkata*
12	28 Feb	West Indies vs Netherlands	New Delhi
13	28 Feb	Zimbabwe vs Canada	Nagpur
14	1 Mar	Sri Lanka vs Kenya	Colombo
15	2 Mar	England vs Ireland	Bangalore
16	3 Mar	South Africa vs Netherlands	Mohali
17	3 Mar	Pakistan vs Canada	Colombo
18	4 Mar	New Zealand vs Zimbabwe	Ahmedabad
19	4 Mar	Bangladesh vs West Indies	Dhaka
20	5 Mar	Sri Lanka vs Australia	Colombo
21	6 Mar	India vs Ireland	Bangalore
22	6 Mar	England vs South Africa	Chennai
23	7 Mar	Kenya vs Canada	New Delhi
24	8 Mar	Pakistan vs New Zealand	Pallekelle
25	9 Mar	India vs Netherlands	New Delhi
26	10 Mar	Sri Lanka vs Zimbabwe	Pallekelle
27	11 Mar	West Indies vs Ireland	Mohali
28	11 Mar	Bangladesh vs England	Chittagong
29	12 Mar	India vs South Africa	Nagpur
30	13 Mar	New Zealand vs Canada	Mumbai
31	13 Mar	Australia vs Kenya	Bangalore
32	14 Mar	Pakistan vs Zimbabwe	Pallekelle
33	14 Mar	Bangladesh vs Netherlands	Chittagong
34	15 Mar	South Africa vs Ireland	Kolkata
35	16 Mar	Australia vs Canada	Bangalore
36	17 Mar	England vs West Indies	Chennai
37	18 Mar	Sri Lanka vs New Zealand	Mumbai
38	18 Mar	Ireland vs Netherlands	Kolkata
39	19 Mar	Australia vs Pakistan	Colombo
40	19 Mar	Bangladesh vs South Africa	Dhaka
41	20 Mar	Zimbabwe vs Kenya	Kolkata
42	20 Mar	India vs West Indies	Chennai
43	23 Mar	First Quarterfinal	Dhaka
44	24 Mar	Second Quarterfinal	Colombo
45	25 Mar	Third Quarterfinal	Dhaka
46	26 Mar	Fourth Quarterfinal	Ahmedabad
47	29 Mar	First Semifinal	Colombo
48	30 Mar	Second Semifinal	Mohali
49	02 Apr	FINAL	Mumbai
*To be confirmed. Most probably it would be played in M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru (Bangalore).

Cricket World Cup 2011: Sachin Tendulkar and the players in the last-chance saloon

Sachin Tendulkar: Playing in his sixth World Cup, the proprietor of just about every batting record going is lacking only in one thing – a World Cup winner's medal. The 37 year-old reached the final in 2003 where he was upstaged by centurion Ponting, as India were beaten by Australia in South Africa. Despite his hunger for runs showing little sign of abating, more than 20 years of international cricket will have taken its toll on the Little Master, and another World Cup may be an innings too far.


Jacques Kallis: Like Tendulkar, Kallis still possesses a greedy thirst for runs. And he is still bowling at a decent pace well into his 36th year. But he shares another likeness with Tendulkar – this time unwanted – in that he is without a World Cup winner's medal, even though this being his fifth tournament. The pillar of South Africa's batting will be hoping to add silverware to his collection of more than 11,000 ODI runs before it is too late.


Muttiah Muralitharan: Unlike the other ageing stars at this World Cup, Muralitharan has already announced that his international profession will end after the tournament. The only member of Sri Lanka's 1996 winning side still playing, he remains a strong threat with his magical array of off-breaks, top-spinners and the doosra. Likely to be smiling whether Sri Lanka win or not, Muralitharan, 38, will be spinning the ball hard right on until his final release in his fifth and last World Cup.


Shoaib Akhtar: The career of the Rawalpindi Express Shoaip Akhtar has rarely stayed on track for more than a few months at a time, so it comes as a surprise to see the 35 year-old blistering in, all bulging eyes and pumping thighs, once more. This is Akhtar's last chance to prove his talent as the most destructive fast-bowler in the world. The searing pace and toe-crushing yorkers are still famous, but time is working against the Pakistani and he will be hoping to remain fit as long as his country are still involved.


Going quietly ...

Steve Tikolo: Approaching his 40th birthday, Tikolo retired in February but was convinced to give it one last go on the biggest stage with Kenya. The mainstay of his side's batting since his debut in 1996, he has played in every one of their World Cup matches since. Unlikely to make it a farewell to remember.


John Davison: Struck what was then the fastest World Cup century (off 67 balls) against the WI (West Indies) in 2003, the 40 year-old is trying to achieve similar fireworks this time around. The best player in Canada's history, Davison is the oldest player in the contest and will want to rip up the record books again before his time is up.

Cricket World Cup crafted to please South Asian audience

A sure sign that the format of the Cricket World Cup is “outmoded and uncool” is that Bryan Adams was the star of the opening ceremony on Thursday, was the sniffy comment of a British newspaper last week.


“However you look at it, there’s something a bit rum about a 21st-century sporting event that opens with a performance from Bryan Adams,” said the London Evening Standard on Friday.


The British disdain for the marketing, hoopla and fiddling with the format of the game they invented 300 years ago is perhaps understandable.


But the Cricket World Cup is the third-largest event on the global sporting calendar after the soccer World Cup and the Summer Olympics.

Many hundreds of millions of dollars are riding on this marathon event, which started with the first match played at Bangladesh’s National Stadium on Saturday and will continue until April 2, when the final is due to be played at India’s Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

To say that the International Cricket Council (ICC) has manipulated affairs to ensure a maximum audience and therefore maximum profits is to put it mildly.

If the rules had been followed, the three joint hosts — India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka — should not have even been in the running.

They missed the March 1, 2006, deadline for bids for the 2011 contest. Indeed, only a joint application by Australia and New Zealand was delivered by the closing date.

But when the ICC members came to vote they plumped for the three South Asian nations plus, at that point, Pakistan. (The ICC stripped Pakistan of its host status in 2009 after a terrorist attack on a visiting Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore.)

The choice of the South Asian quartet was a commercial decision recognizing that in India, with its more than one billion population, cricket is a religion along with politics and Bollywood.

With that settled, the ICC then turned its attention to the fact that the last World Cup in the West Indies in 2007 was a commercial disaster.

That was because the Indian team with its vast audience of fans was knocked out of the contest early on, followed soon after by the other South Asian powerhouse, Pakistan.

So the ICC has now fiddled with the format to ensure that none of the big cricketing nations — India, Pakistan, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, England and the West Indies — gets dismissed in the qualifying section.

There are 14 teams, including Canada, no doubt to the bemusement of the Evening Standard, and they are divided into two groups.

In the first round the seven teams in each group play each other once and the top four in each group go on to the quarter finals.

That means that each team plays a minimum of six games and that their appearance is not, as happened to India in 2007, shorter than the flight to the venue.

As former Australian captain Allan Border put it recently, “The way the tournament is structured you’ll have to play like absolute drongos not to get through to the quarter-finals.”

Drongo, for those unfamiliar with “Strine” slang, was the name of a race horse that was a total loser.

No doubt the ICC will consider its mission accomplished if India is one of the teams in the final match in Mumbai on April 2.

India hasn’t won the World Cup since 1983 and this will probably be the last tournament for the team’s star Sachin Tendulkar, the greatest batsman of all time.

But the ICC has also come in for a lot of criticism for insisting that the one-day games be of 50 overs of six balls each.

This is not as demanding as the classic five-day test match, but it is still a gruelling eight hours from early afternoon until after dark.

The ICC is getting a lot of free advice to shift to the Australia-invented fast and furious “Twenty20” format of each team batting for 20 overs, which has become the hub of the world’s multibillion-dollar cricket industry.

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Sachin Honoured In Cricket Awards

MUMBAI: Indian little master Sachin Tendulkar won the best one day international innings award for his double hundred  against South Africa. This was the ever first double century by any batsman in the history of one day internationals. Tendulkar had to fight hard with Abdul Razzaq to win this award as Razzaq’s brilliant match-winning hundred against South Africa was favourite of many board of judges members.


Pakistan’s leading fast bowler Umar Gul has won the best bowler award for the year 2010 in one day internationals on his performance of 6/42 against England at The Oval, England last year.

This is the second successive year Gul has won the award. Last year, he was awarded for his performance in Twenty20 internationals.


Indian’s most stylish and match-winning batsman VVS Laxman got the worthy best test innings of the year award for his brilliant 96 against South Africa in seaming conditions at Durban while Dale Steyn won the best bowling performance in the test matches for his 7/91 against India at Nagpur.


Mike Hussey has won the award of best innings in Twenty20 internationals for his wonderful 60 runs against Pakistan in semi-final of the ICC World Twenty20 where he scored 22 runs from just four balls to close up victory for the Aussies.

Kiwi fast bowler Tim Southee won the award for the best bowling in T20 internationals for his five wickets in just nine balls against Pakistan at Eden Park which also included the hat-trick.


The board of judges panel of Cricinfo for these awards was Kepler Wessles, Ramiz Raja, Tony Greig,  Ian Chappell, Geoff Boycott, Sanjay Manjrekar and Martin Crowe.

Chawla spins India to victory against Australia

Bangalore, Feb 13 - A packed Chinnaswamy stadium with 38,000 cheering fans got their money's worth in Bangalore, where India scripted an amazing turnaround to win their first World Cup warm-up match against Australia.

The atmosphere at the Chinnaswamy stadium was good enough for a World Cup final but some lacklustre batting from the Indians threatened to let the home crowd go away disappointed. That was until a 4 wicket spell from Piyush Chawla sent the Australian middle order back to the pavillion.


Chasing 215 runs to win - Shane Watson and Tim Paine opened up Australia's innings. They put up a 51-run partnership and didn't look like getting out till Piyush Chawla took a blinder off Sreesanth to dismiss Shane Watson (33 of 26 balls).

That brought skipper Ricky Ponting to the crease. Ponting was making a comeback into the side after a finger injury and started off with three 4s in an Ashwin over. Then began the battle between Sreesanth and Ponting. Sreesanth being Sreesanth couldn't stay quiet for long and Ponting being Ponting wasn't one to turn away without giving it back. The verbal exchange brought the crowd to their feet and was followed up by a huge appeal for a caught behind in the same over. Ponting looked out and the Indians even started to celebrate but the Umpire didn't think there was an edge.


Ponting and Tim Paine (37 off 57 balls) formed another solid partnership (67 off 83 balls) and with the Aussies at 117/1 the writing seemed to be on the wall.

But this Indian team has proved that you can't write them off so easily. Tim Paine's wicket triggered off a mini-collapse which allowed India to creep back into the game. Michael Clarke (0 off 4 balls) left without upsetting the scorers when he played Piyush Chawla onto the stumps. Chawla then picked up Cameron White (4 off 13 balls) and David Hussey (0 off 1) who was stumped by MS Dhoni. Callum Ferguson was let off at first slip by Virat Kohli but he edged another delivery to Kohli yet again in the same over giving Piyush Chawla his fourth wicket for the day. Chawla's spell silenced most of the debate over his inclusion into the World Cup squad, and as Dhoni said in the post match press conference - has given India some more options.


Ricky Ponting (57 off 85 balls) was then stumped by MS Dhoni off Harbhajan Singh's bowling with Australia on 166/7, throwing the game wide open. Another stumping from Dhoni off Harbhajan sent Mitchell Johnson (15 off 19 balls) back and put India in the driver's seat. Harbhajan then picked up Jason Krejza in the same over leaving Australia with 30 runs to win with just one wicket in hand.

The end was near and soon enough R Ashwin bowled Brett Lee (1 off 7 balls) to clean up the Australian innings.

Earlier in the day, India decided to rest Sachin Tendulkar and pace spearhead Zaheer Khan. The Indian captain later said that both of them had very minor niggles. Dhoni would have hoped that Sachin skipping out would help them test the rest of the batting - Kohli, Yuvraj and Raina, and finalise on India's middle order. Things however didn't exactly go to plan.

Virat Kohli (21 off 33 balls) arrived at the crease after Gautam Gambhir's (6 off 15 balls) early departure and was looking good with some crisp drives until he cut a Hastings delivery straight to David Hussey at point.


Kolhi's 42-run partnership with India's other opener Virender Sehwag would turn out to be the highest partnership of the innings. Virender Sehwag (54 off 56 balls) back after a shoulder injury, ended up being India's top scorer. Sehwag started off slowly and didn't get a lot of the strike early on - he finally brought up his 50 in style with a huge six clobbered over long-off, but was out off the very next ball - a short one from Krejza.

Yuvraj Singh (1 off 7 balls) failed to stake his claim for a permanent spot in the eleven. His indecisive shot only managed to guide the ball into the hands of wicket-keeper Tim Paine. Captain MS Dhoni (11 off 24 balls) couldn't do much either and got an inside edge from John Hastings onto his stumps.

India weren't in good shape at the halfway mark with the score on 122/5 and things didn't get much better from there on. Suresh Raina (12 off 16 balls) headed back soon - chasing and edging one outside the off stump as soon as Brett Lee decided to come around the wicket.

Next at the crease was India's supposed new all-rounder Harbhajan Singh (4 off 2 balls). The first ball he faced went to the boundary as he cut towards fine leg. The crowds joy was short-lived once again as Brett Lee sent his middle stump flying with a perfect yorker off the very next ball. Piyush Chawla was out for a duck (0 off 6 balls), Brett Lee hitting the stumps yet again and picking up his third wicket.

Yusuf Pathan (32 off 38 balls) got a life when he was dropped by Shane Watson on 13 after edging one to first slip while attempting a drive off Mitchell Johnson. Pathan took his time even as scored a couple of boundaries at the other end. The 39th over saw two huge sixes from Pathan and everyone was hoping for a replica of his last innings in Bangalore. The rescue act however was short-lived as a mistimed slog off David Hussey sent him packing.


India's tailenders R Ashwin (25 not out off 47 balls) and Ashish Nehra (19 off 24 balls) scored some handy runs towards the end and took India past the 200-run mark before the innings came to a close at 214 in just the 45th over.

India will now take on New Zealand in Chennai on Wednesday in their second and final warm-up match.

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Cricket-Top 10 batting innings

Cricket-Top 10 batting innings

Brief run-down of the top batting knocks in the World Cup (against test playing nations only) ahead of the 2011 edition which starts on Saturday:

1. Saurav Ganguly (India) - 183 (158 balls, 17 fours, 7 sixes) v Sri Lanka, Taunton, 1999

Ganguly provided a taste of what T20 might be like with his towering hits that almost cleared the outskirts of the town, let alone Taunton's tiny ground. After stuttering in their opening encounter against South Africa and choking in a space of six balls from Henry Olonga against Zimbabwe, India needed to win big against Sri Lanka. Ganguly's innings ensured just that and provided the momentum for a place in the Super Sixes. However, the early setbacks cost India the chance of further qualification.

2. Viv Richards (West Indies) - 181 (125 balls, 16 fours, 7 sixes) v Sri Lanka, Karachi, 1987

Richards walked in to bat on a hat-trick and by the time he departed, he had scored the highest score (then) in a World Cup. He went about his business in such a savage manner that Desmond Haynes' 105 almost seemed pedestrian by comparison. It was a perfect riposte to two back-to-back losses in World Cups for the West Indies (1983 finals to India; opening encounter against England in 1987). Although, they exited before the semi-finals, Richards had once again stamped his authority on the World Cup.

3. Matthew Hayden (Australia) 158 (143 balls, 14 fours, 4 sixes) v West Indies, North Sound, 2007

Hayden imposed himself on the home side with an innings of various gears. It was an uncharacteristic innings, given it was Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke and Shane Watson who provided the impetus while the big man almost played a 'sheet anchor' role by his standards. Having not opened his account for 18 deliveries, he got to his 50 in 72 deliveries, and it was only in the 45th over that he really went into overdrive. Despite a glimpse of Brian Lara's class, there was no stopping Australia.

4. Adam Gilchrist (Australia) 149 (104 balls, 13 fours, 8 sixes) v Sri Lanka, Bridgetown, 2007

Clive Lloyd (1975), Viv Richards (1979), Aravinda de Silva (1996), Ponting (2003) and Gilchrist (2007). It is a Who's Who list of batsmen who left their indelible mark on World Cup finals. After a rather tepid tournament by his standards, Gilchrist -- with a squash ball inside his gloves -- treated the cricket ground akin to a squash court. His brutal assault propelled Australia, and although Sanath Jayasuriya and Kumar Sangakarra made a game of it, they could not stop Australia from winning the 2007 World Cup for the third consecutive time.

5. AB de Villiers (South Africa) 146 (130 balls, 12 fours, 5 sixes) v West Indies, St George's, 2007

With the West Indies already out of contention for a semi-final slot, Lara experimented with some debatable team selection and bowling decisions. But nothing can be taken away from the knock of De Villiers, who ensured that South Africa's shock defeat to Bangladesh was an aberration.

Although Sarwan tried gamely, South Africa eased through to the semis where, again, their fragile batting was exposed by the Australians, thus re-invigorating the tag of 'chokers'.

6. Rahul Dravid (India) 145 (129 balls, 17 fours, 1 six) v Sri Lanka, Taunton, 1999

Indian cricket is replete with Dravid's feats in some monumental partnerships and this extremely crucial 318-run partnership with his skipper, Ganguly, was no less momentous. The fact that he scored at a very impressive strike rate almost went unnoticed as he was finding the gaps and using his pull shots but not hitting the towering sixes that regularly came at the other end. However, Mr Dependable was there when India needed him most.

7. Andrew Symonds (Australia) 143* (125 balls, 18 fours, 2 sixes) v Pakistan, Johannesburg, 2003

In Australia's first match of the 2003 World Cup as defending champions, they were stunned by the Pakistani fast bowling attack with Gilchrist, Hayden, Damien Martyn and Jimmy Maher back in the hutch within the Powerplay. Ponting and Symonds rebuilt the innings and a sedate start assumed fierce proportions once Ponting departed. Symonds took a liking to Shahid Afridi's bowling and did not spare the Ws (Wasim and Waqar) in the death overs either. Pakistan never really got going and Australia were off and running.

8. Herschelle Gibbs (South Africa) 143 (141 balls, 19 fours, 3 sixes) v New Zealand, Johannesburg, 2003

A feeling of deja vu must have crept in when Gibbs scored another century at the World Cup and lost another crucial match. Rewind to 'You just dropped the World Cup, mate' quip from Steve Waugh in 1999 when Gibbs dropped a sitter after having scored 101 and let Australia off the hook. Fast forward four years, and this time it was the Kiwi skipper, Stephen Fleming, who upstaged Gibbs' heroic effort with sheer class and grace. It was a tournament where bad luck, rain, Messrs Duckworth & Lewis, and common sense (or lack of it) conspired to eliminate the hosts.

9. Dave Houghton (Zimbabwe) 142 (137 balls, 13 fours, 6 sixes) v New Zealand, Hyderabad, 1987

Another heartbreak story for another valiant centurion. Zimbabwe had always threatened to be giant slayers in their performances against India and Australia in 1983. They nearly did it again, chasing a respectable 243 to win. Houghton played one of the most majestic innings and almost single handedly won the match for Zimbabwe. Unfortunately, the rest of the batting line up let him down with tennis scores of 1-5-12-4-5-2-1. When Zimbabwe fell short by three runs, all neutral cricket fans must have been equally dejected.

10. Scott Styris (New Zealand) 141 (125 balls, 3 fours, 6 sixes) v Sri Lanka, Bloemfontein, 2003

To round off the theme with a hat-trick of centuries in losing causes, Styris was the sole survivor amidst a sinking ship with only a fighting 32 from Chris Cairns to prop up the New Zealand total. New Zealand never really came close to challenging the relatively imposing total of 272 from Sri Lanka.

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