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.

Read more..

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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India, South Africa Outstanding teams: Ponting

Australian cricket captain Ricky Ponting said Friday that India and South Africa were "outstanding teams" but his side too had the drive with it to go for its fourth successive World Cup title.


He played down talk of Australia not being the favorites to win the 2011 edition beginning Feb 19.

"I don't care," Ponting told reporters in front of the team's practice here, two days before the warm-up match against India.


He said it was "totally irrelevant" whether they start as favorites or not.


"It is totally irrelevant. Yes, we are ranked number one but we won't be thinking about that."


He also did not agree with several predictions that India or South Africa were favorites to lift the Cup.


"I am not sure if there is a really hot favorite going into a tournament like this," Ponting said.


He, however, recognized that India and South Africa were "probably two of the outstanding teams".


Ponting said the recent One-day series win against England, though after a drubbing in the Ashes, had given the Australians "confidence".


There was "a bit of impetus around our team", after the 6-1 win against England in the ODI series, he said.


"The lead-up couldn't be much better coming into this World Cup, having just firmed a pretty good English side," even though some senior players not taking part, he said.


Ponting, who did not play in the one-day matches against England due to a finger injury, said he was hopeful of playing in the warm-up game against India here Sunday.


The captain said he has to focus on his batting and fielding as he was out of the game for about month due to the injury.

Kirsten confirms World Cup his last assignment with Team India

Indian team coach Gary Kirsten yesterday confirmed that the upcoming World Cup would be his last assignment with his favourite men in blue.

 

Kirsten, who received "Coach of the Year" award -- given jointly by leading magazine Sports Illustrated and Headlines Today in Bangalore -- helped captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men rush to the top in the Test cricket while being recognized as a top ODI team during his three-year tenure as the coach.

 

But while his wards will settle for nothing less than the prized cricketing silverware as a parting gift to their favorite coach, Kirsten expressed confidence on his team's chances at cricket's ultimate showdown.

 

"It was an implausible privilege to work with these players and to be given an opportunity to work with the Indian cricket team. I am fully aware of the fervor of the game and how people love it. I am fully aware of the responsibility of the role that these players play," Kirsten said.

 

"A fantastic bunch of guys, I have enjoyed every one of them. This is the end for me, World Cup. It has been great memories of the last three years and I have enjoyed every moment," said the former South African cricketer.

India start the World Cup as favourites

For a team that was knocked out in the first round itself in 2007, India have done amazingly well to be counted among the favourites at this World Cup. They have been highly consistent over the last two years which means they can last the distance in a long drawn-out tournament.



Impact Index (II) too shows that India's two greatest ODI batsmen are currently opening the batting (Tendulkar, Sehwag). They also boast of their greatest finisher in the middle order (Dhoni), as also their best match winning talent after Tendulkar (Yuvraj). Add their finest wicketkeeper and finest ODI captain (Dhoni), their best-ever ODI bowler (Harbhajan Singh) and their second-best pace ODI bowler (Zaheer Khan) and you have a formidable line-up. A man-by-man analysis:



1) VIRENDER SEHWAG (1999 - ) Matches 214 | Batting Average 35 | Strike Rate 103 | Bowling Average 40 | Economy Rate 5.3 | Impact Index 2.86



Despite just-about decent conventional statistics, Sehwag's strike rate makes him the most dangerous batsman in the world. This is reflected in his Strike Rate II, which is second only to Afridi among the current World Cuppers. His Bowling II of 0.73 suggests a very useful part-time bowler too.



2) SACHIN TENDULKAR (1989 - ) Matches 420 | Batting Average 45 | Strike Rate 86 | Bowling Average 44 | Economy Rate 5.1 | Impact Index 3.42



The world's greatest ODI batsman of this era (Batting II 2.16) opens the batting. It is his last World Cup and he is really hungry for it. Talent like his needs no better focus but the weight of expectation in front of home crowds might be a huge factor.



3) GAUTAM GAMBHIR (2004 - ) Matches 97 | Batting Average 40 | Strike Rate 87 | Impact Index 1.93



Gambhir is, in his quiet way, a formidable force already (7th best Indian ODI batsman of all-time) - very good at absorbing pressure too, as per II. He is even better at anchoring the side during a chase (has the fourth-highest Chasing II in Indian ODI history) so should enable the openers to play with abandon.



4) VIRAT KOHLI (2008 - ) Matches 43 | Batting Average 46 | Strike Rate 82 | Impact Index 2.25



If the minimum qualification of 75 matches could be relaxed, Kohli would be the third-best ODI Indian batsman of all time (after Tendulkar and Sehwag). Not only this, he is just behind Dravid and Yuvraj at absorbing pressure too, as II reveals. Kohli is also one of the best fielders in the current squad along with Yuvraj and Raina.



5) YUVRAJ SINGH (2000 - ) Matches 253 | Batting Average 37 | Strike Rate 88 | Bowling Average 39 | Economy Rate 5 | Impact Index 2.77



He is India's greatest match-winning ODI batsman after Tendulkar (four series-defining performances, the most after Tendulkar), almost a genuine bowler (with a Bowling II of almost 1) and India's best fielder. If injury problems and fitness issues don't catch up, he could be India's most important player in this World Cup.



6) MS DHONI (2004 - ) Matches 167 | Batting Average 49 | Strike Rate 89 | Impact Index 3.56



India's most successful captain, its best wicket-keeper and its sixth-best ODI batsman of all time. And perhaps more pertinently, the best chaser and finisher amongst Indian batsmen. His fundamentally detached temperament might be the key factor in front of impassioned home crowds.



7) YUSUF PATHAN (2008 - ) Matches 43 | Batting Average 33 | Strike Rate 115 | Bowling Average 35 | Economy Rate 5.6 | Impact Index 2.25



Given what he has built his reputation on, it's surprising that his Bowling II of 1.01 is actually higher than his Batting II (0.92). But he handles pressure superbly, and is second only to Sehwag when it comes to Strike Rate. An all-or-nothing player, he could be the match-winner.



8) HARBHAJAN SINGH (1998 - ) Matches 202 | Bowling Average 33 | Economy Rate 4.3 | Impact Index 2.80



India's best ODI bowler of all-time. Has the second highest Economy Rate II in world cricket today (after Muralitharan). Bears the mantle of India's best bowler and could play the most important role for the team. Can be a dangerous lower order bat too, though he seems to prefer the Test format.



9) ZAHEER KHAN (2000 - ) Matches 172 | Bowling Average 30 | Economy Rate 4.9 | Impact Index 2.49



India's second-best pace bowler ever (after Srinath) - and crucial to India's chances, especially with the loss through injury of Praveen Kumar. Has been in good form lately, and he could also be one of the most significant forces for India.



10) MUNAF PATEL (2006 - ) Matches 50 | Bowling Average 30 | Economy Rate 4.8 | Impact Index 2.24



He has an excellent Economy II and a good Partnership-Breaking II - and is a genuine match winner on his day (gets an II 5 every ten matches, which is very good - though he is yet to cross 75 games). Praveen's exit paves the way for him.



11) ASHISH NEHRA (2001 - ) Matches 111 | Bowling Average 32 | Economy Rate 5.2 | Impact Index 2.13



Nehra's fragile body has never quite lived up to his promise. This is a great chance for him to be counted. He is amongst India's highest wicket takers (on a match-by-match basis, which II measures, not aggregates) and could be the team's most important support act, especially in death overs.



ON THE BENCH



SURESH RAINA (2005 - ) Matches 107 | Batting Average 35 | Strike Rate 90 | Impact Index 1.72



Amongst India's best batsmen when it comes to handling pressure and second only to Yuvraj when it comes to fielding. Has lost his place due to poor form (after a fabulous run) but Pathan's unreliability could bring him back in the reckoning soon.



RAVICHANDRAN ASHWIN (2010 - ) Matches 7 | Bowling Average 23 | Economy Rate 4.9 | Impact Index 3.46



The most exciting young player in India today - has the best Bowling II amongst any Indian bowler (2.81) but has played only 6 matches to arrive at any conclusive decision. He has an excellent Economy II and can bat a bit too. Could well be India's surprise weapon in the big matches (and might have been held back by Dhoni lately for that reason).



S SREESANTH (2010 - ) Matches 47 | Bowling Average 32 | Economy Rate 6.0 | Impact Index 1.80



Praveen Kumar's injury is a huge body blow and Sreesanth is not really an adequate replacement in Indian conditions. He is not quite as impressive in ODIs as in Tests, but given his exploits in South Africa a logical replacement choice (his Bowling II of 1.44 is not bad at all). Indian conditions won't help him much though.



PIYUSH CHAWLA (2007 - ) Matches 22 | Bowling Average 34 | Economy Rate 4.9 | Impact Index 1.78



A solid and useful bowler (with a good Economy II) but somewhat perplexing to see him in the side. When even Ashwin is not assured of getting a place in the first eleven, Chawla is certain to be a passenger in this World Cup. He will probably be a quality net bowler during practice sessions.



About Impact Index



Impact Index is a newly-developed statistical system in cricket that measures the impact of a player in a match relative to the other performances in the same match, on a scale of 0 to 5. On a match and career level, this is perhaps the most meaningful measure of a cricketer till date. By adding context to its measurement, it avoids the skews of time-honoured systems like averages. By making all its calculations holistically from each match, it avoids the rampant subjectivity of rating systems. The Times Of India has the exclusive use of Impact Index right through World Cup 2011.



India's batting might is the strongest in the tournament

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Quite satisfied with World Cup schedule; will miss Praveen: Dhoni

Bangalore, Feb 10 (IANS) Indian cricket team Captain M.S.Dhoni Thursday said he was quite happy with the World Cup schedule, which has drawn disapproval from some teams for the six-day gap in some matches.


'It is very hard to form a perfect schedule and format. A tournament schedule will be either too long or too short,' he told reporters here.


'I am quite happy with the team schedule. It will give us time to get well from small niggles,' Dhoni said on the second day of his team's introductory camp for the 45-day World Cup that begins in Dhaka Feb 19 with a match between co-hosts India and Bangladesh. The third co-host is Sri Lanka.

The schedule has been criticized, mainly by England's Kevin Pieterson who questioned the six-day gap in several of the matches his team plays.

The Indian captain M.S.Dhoni said the team would miss fast bowler Praveen Kumar who is treatment an elbow injury. Pacer from Kerala Shantakumaran Sreesanth has taken his place.

Dhoni said it was 'unfortunate that Praveen had to miss the World Cup. He is a street-smart cricketer and we will miss him.'

The captain, without mentioning any particular name, said a few players were 'suffering from slight niggles, which is always there but nothing serious.'

The players who have recovered from those 'niggles' are Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Sachin Tendulkar.

They along with other team mates hit the nets and gym late Wednesday and will continue the practice till Feb 12 at the (NCA)National Cricket Academy facility here.

The Indian team will play its first warm-up match with Australia here.

History of the Cricket World Cup

Fine weather blessed the first global one-day tournament culminating in an unforgettable final between West Indies and Australia at Lord's.


Striking the ball with relaxed brutality, West Indies' captain Clive Lloyd tamed an attack headed by the pace and fury of Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson to score 102 from 85 balls. He was ably assisted by the 39-year-old Rohan Kanhai, a late replacement for his injured contemporary Garfield Sobers. Kanhai contributed 55 to West Indies' 291 for eight from their 60 overs.


Australia captain Ian Chappell led a spirited reply with 62 before he fell victim to one of three runouts effected by the electric reflexes of Viv Richards. Lillee and Thomson added 41 for the final wicket before Australia were finally dismissed for 274 at twilight on the longest day of the year.


1979, England


Peace was brokered with Australian entrepreneur Kerry Packer, whose rebel World Series had split world cricket, shortly before the second World Cup.


Australia still chose not to select any of the players who had signed for Packer but West Indies did and a team who were to rule world cricket throughout the next decade demolished England in the final.


Richards, then the world's number one batsman, stroked an imperious 138 and Collis King struck a whirlwind 86. Although England captain Mike Brearley and Geoff Boycott put on 129 for the first wicket, they took up 38 of the 60 overs. After their dismissals, the giant Joel Garner ran through the middle order with a series of unplayable yorkers to take five wickets in 11 balls and give his team victory by 92 runs.


1983, England


Richards seemed intent on winning the final against underdogs India on his own after West Indies had been set a modest 184 to win.

He struck seven boundaries in his 33 from 28 balls before top-edging a hook which India captain Kapil Dev, running away from the pitch towards the boundary at mid-wicket, coolly collected.


West Indies imploded thereafter, with India recording a famous 43-run victory which was to have profound implications at home where one-day cricket quickly superseded the test game as the most popular form of the sport.


1987, India and Pakistan


England appeared to be cruising to victory in the final against Australia at Kolkata's Eden Gardens when Mike Gatting tried a reverse sweep off opposing captain Allan Border's first delivery and lobbed a simple catch.


A well-drilled and disciplined Australia side went on to win by seven runs with the core of the team who later thrashed England in the 1989 Ashes series and eventually succeeded West Indies as unofficial world test champions.


Because of the shorter daylight hours on the sub-continent all matches were played over 50 overs, now the standard length, instead of 60.


1992, Australia and New Zealand


Famously urged by their captain Imran Khan to "fight like cornered tigers", Pakistan rebounded from imminent elimination in the opening round to defeat England in the final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.


Imran, the greatest player to emerge from Pakistan, scored 72 batting at number three in his final match for his country. He also took the final wicket after his protege Wasim Akram had blown away Ian Botham, Allan Lamb and Chris Lewis.


Coloured clothing, floodlights and a white ball, all pioneered in World Series cricket, were finally introduced into the tournament.


1996, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka


Sri Lanka, with the explosive Sananth Jayasuriya at the top of the order and Muttiah Muralitharan bewitching opposing batsmen with his prodigious powers of spin, proved worthy champions.

The Sri Lankans had demonstrated before the tournament that they could chase down totals previously thought beyond reach and they exploited the fielding restrictions at the start of the innings by attacking from the first ball.

Aravinda da Silva, their most accomplished batsman, scored an assured unbeaten century in the seven-wicket win over Australia in the final in Lahore.


1999, England, Wales and Scotland


Australia, the world's best test side, were in danger of elimination in the group stages and again in the Super Six round where 120 not out from captain Steve Waugh, dropped on 56 by Herschelle Gibbs, ensured victory over South Africa.

Then, in a semi-final between the same teams, South Africa needed only one run with four balls remaining in the final over with their best one-day batsman Lance Klusner on strike. A panicky runout tied an epic match which put Australia through by virtue of their superior run rate in the previous round.

Australia made no contest of the final against Pakistan, taking barely 4-1/2 hours to overwhelm the 1992 champions.


2003, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya


Australia's new one-day captain Ricky Ponting struck eight sixes in his 140 not out in the final against India as his team scaled new heights with a relentless 125-run victory.

The Australians became the first team to win three World Cups and took their unbeaten run in the tournament to 16.

England refused to play in Zimbabwe, whose two leading players Andy Flower and Henry Olonga wore black armbands when they played against Kenya to protest against "the death of democracy in our beloved Zimbabwe".


2007, West Indies


Australia, fresh from a 5-0 Ashes series win over England, systematically destroyed all opposition throughout the Caribbean, finishing with victory over Sri Lanka in a rain-shortened final at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados.

Adam Gilchrist bettered Ponting's record tally in a final with a typically audacious 149. Two other Australian giants, Matthew Hayden and Glenn McGrath, were the leading run-scorer and wicket-taker respectively in the tournament.

The tournament was overshadowed by the death of popular Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer at the age of 58 in his hotel room in Jamaica after his team had unexpectedly lost to Ireland. Police launched a murder investigation which led nowhere and a jury later returned an open verdict.

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Eden needs to fix sight screen problems

The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) office bearers are still inflexible that the height of the sight screens at the Eden Gardens meet the international standard.

According to the ICC assessment report, Eden Gardens failed on 17 counts and gone the February 27 World Cup match between India and England. And sight screen, or rather its height, is one of them. Test umpires who have plenty experience of officiating matches at the Eden Gardens feel that the ICC’s insist about the sight screen is justified.

“Sight screen is really a reason for concern at Eden Gardens. During my time, the height of the sight screens used to be 15 feet X 45 feet. The entrance gate of the club house inferior tier is right on top of the sight screen at the pavilion end and play got hold up everytime there was a movement. We used to lose at least 10-15 minutes everyday for the turbulence,” former Test umpire Piloo Reporter told The Sunday Express.

“Now the ICC is very exacting about maintaining the time. Fifty overs have to be bowled in three and a half hours which doesn’t allow an interruption for the sight screen problems,” he added. The CAB had rejected the ICC’s suggestion of raising the height of the sight screens to 25 feet reportedly on the ground that it would have meant a loss of 200 odd seats in the lower row of the club house.

“The ICC’s ruling has justification. But at the same time, the world body should standardize the height and width of the sight screen to avoid confusion,” Reporter said.

India's batmakers hit for six by global sponsors

When the world's batsmen dazzle crowds at this month's cricket World Cup, many will use bats hand-made in India. But lucrative global branding that masks the bats' true makers threatens the country's craftsmen.



In cricket-mad India, family businesses that have supplied the country's leading cricketers for generations face an uncertain future of anonymity as global giants swamp the game with cash in exchange for TV-friendly logos on the big-hitters' bats.



"Buying players with advertising is far cheaper than investing in making bats. We are crafting bats, they are using stickers. They are ruining our brands, because we cannot afford to give that kind of money, those royalties to the players," says Rakesh Mahajan, director of B.D. Mahajan and Sons (BDM).



In his dust-filled workshop in the northern Indian city of Meerut, dozens of workers cut, glue, sand and bend hundreds of bats everyday to the exact specifications of international superstars, who rely on their decades-old techniques.



"Sponsorship is no harm, but removing the manufacturer's branding is not fair. We are building the bats, but people are not recognising us: the sponsors are taking the credit," says Mahajan.



Sat in his wood-paneled office, over the sounds of sawing and banging below, Mahajan proudly shows photos of players using BDM bats. But the pictures are undeniably dated: Former superstars carry the logo, but the current crop have followed the money.



"We have no issue with Gray Nicholls, or Kookaburra," says Mahajan, referring to the long-established UK and Australia-based equipment manufacturers.



"The problem is Nike, Reebok, Adidas, people like Brittania and Hero Honda. They make biscuits and motorbikes, not bats!"



BDM employs 300 people in its two factories in Meerut, 80 kilometres north-east of Delhi, where hundreds of sports companies gather at a major hub in the country's estimated 10 billion rupee ($219 million) cricket equipment market.



Wood shavings carpet the stone floor of the bat workshop, where scores of workers squat, filing the edges of countless bats to a smooth finish under towers of willow planks and cane handles that climb to the ceiling.



Boxes of finished bats pile up in every direction from the factory entrance, ready to be distributed across India and the world to global superstars, academy players and amateur batsmen.



WORLD CUP BOOM Despite Mahajan's fear of cricket's commercialisation, which exploded with the launch of the billion-dollar Indian Premier League in 2008 that sent player wages and TV rights skyrocketing, he admits the globally-viewed World Cup is good for business.



Demand is strong, and Mahajan's sparkling 4x4 on the dusty lane that runs through the industrial estate filled with sports manufacturers attests to BDM's 10-15 percent annual growth.



With the first match just weeks away, the factory is churning out 1,200 bats a day for its largest ever order, and to meet soaring demands from schools and local authorities, while sacks are stuffed full of cricket balls branded with carmaker logos for promotional release during the tournament, which begins Feb 19.



The company produces an average of 150,000 bats and 220,000 balls every year, using willow from England and India's northern Kashmir region. Ten percent of its products are exported, mainly to the cricket heartlands of the UK, Australia and Pakistan.

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