dhoni - Dhaka Mirror

India power to World Cup triumph

Admin — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 17:56:31 +0000

India beat Sri Lanka by six wickets in a pulsating final to deliver World Cup glory to their cricket-mad population for the first time since 1983.
Sri Lanka smashed 91 from their last 10 overs to post 274-6 in Mumbai, with Mahela Jayawardene making a superb 103.
India lost Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar early on but Gautam Gambhir and Mahendra Dhoni rebuilt the innings.
Gambhir was out for 97, but captain Dhoni’s brilliant unbeaten 91 led India to a famous win with 10 balls to spare.
The skipper, struggling for form throughout the tournament, played the innings of his life and sealed the victory with a phenomenal straight six that sailed high into the stands, providing the catalyst for euphoric celebrations in the Wankhede Stadium.
Tendulkar’s early dismissal for 18 ensured there was to be no fairytale 100th international century for Mumbai’s favourite son.
But wonderful innings from Gambhir and Dhoni ensured the “Little Master” can finally get his hands on the sport’s ultimate prize at the sixth attempt as India became the first host nation to win the tournament, while Jayawardene became the first player to score a hundred in the final and finish on the losing side.
Meanwhile, it was a sad end to the incredible career of Sri Lanka off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan who, having battled injuries throughout the event, failed to take a wicket in his last international match.
And when the Sri Lankan inquest begins, they will surely regret the decision to make four changes for the final, only one of which was enforced.
With off-spinner Ajantha Mendis dropped, replacement bowlers Thisara Perera, Nuwan Kulasekara and Suraj Randiv managed only one wicket between them.
Chasing a total 46 runs higher than the previous best under lights at the venue, prolific openers Sehwag and Tendulkar stepped out to a cacophony of noise.
But it only took two balls for the mood inside the stadium to be transformed as Sehwag failed to get his bat on a full straight delivery from Lasith Malinga and was trapped in front of his stumps.
Tendulkar, seemingly carrying the hopes of a billion Indians on his shoulders, soon had the crowd in a frenzy with two sumptuous boundaries off Kulasekara, but hopes of a fairytale 100th international century in his home city were to be sadly dashed.
Kumar Sangakkara’s decision to give Malinga a fourth over with the new ball proved a masterstroke as the paceman tempted Tendulkar into a swipe outside off stump and a thick edge was taken low by the captain himself behind the stumps.
While Malinga wheeled away in celebration with his team-mates in pursuit, a stunned silence fell over the Wankhede.
Gambhir and Virat Kohli would have been forgiven for going into their shell but the duo remained positive in seeing India to 105-2 off 20 overs.
Their partnership had reached 83 when Kohli got a leading edge to a Tillakaratne Dilshan delivery and was brilliantly caught one-handed by the bowler for 35.
Dhoni, whose previous highest score at the tournament was 34, took the brave decision to promote himself up the batting order above Yuvraj Singh and after a watchful start he started to find his range on his favoured off side.
The right-hander’s partnership with the left-handed Gambhir kept the Sri Lanka bowlers guessing and gradually the duo chipped away at the total.
After taking the score past 200, Dhoni required treatment for a side strain but the skipper did not lose any focus as he leant back and chopped Muralitharan through the off side for four.
Without ever batting with the fluency of Jayawardene, Gambhir worked his way to within three of a famous hundred before he was clean bowled by Perera to give Sri Lanka hope.
With the score on 241-4, Sri Lanka thought they had run out Dhoni when Kapugadera’s throw hit the stumps but with replays inconclusive, the India skipper was reprieved.
After 46 overs, Sangakkara made the surprise decision to throw the ball to Kulasekara instead of the clearly disgruntled Muralitharan and the tactic back-fired as India helped themselves to 11 runs.
The same number followed from Malinga’s next over to put India on the brink of victory, before Yuvraj Singh took a single to give Dhoni the strike with four more runs needed.
The wicketkeeper-batsman’s stunning final blow provided a fitting end to a memorable final.
Earlier, the coin toss was shrouded in confusion as the noise of the crowd rendered Sangakkara’s call inaudible to match referee Jeff Crowe. He ordered a re-toss, which was won by the Sri Lanka captain, who opted to bat to the obvious frustration of his opposite number Dhoni.
When the action began, India settled the faster with seamer Zaheer Khan getting straight into rhythm.
Suffocating Upul Tharanga with a tight off stump line, he bowled three consecutive maidens before having the batsman caught at slip for two off a perfect outswinger.
Dilshan took his tournament run haul to exactly 500 before he was dismissed by Harbhajan Singh in the spinner’s second over. The batsman attempted a sweep but the ball struck his arm and thigh pad before rebounding agonisingly on to his stumps.
Veteran pair Sangakkara and Jayawardene got the innings back on track with a partnership of 62 as Sri Lanka reached 122-2 in the 28th over.
But their stand was broken by Yuvraj as Sangakkara – two short of his half-century – attempted a square cut to a shorter ball and got a faint edge through to Dhoni.
Jayawardene, who reached fifty from 49 balls, produced an innings of impeccable touch and timing, scoring heavily in the third man area and keeping his score moving at a run a ball to drag his team towards a competitive total.
With Sreesanth leaking runs, Dhoni was forced to use part-time bowlers Tendulkar and Kohli before recalling Zaheer to the attack.
But it was the irrepressible Yuvraj who struck the next blow. Thilan Samaraweera got too far across his stumps attempting to sweep and was struck on the thigh. Simon Taufel’s not out decision was overturned on review, with replays showing the ball would have struck middle stump.
Zaheer could not be kept out of the limelight for long and a superb slower ball totally deceived Chamara Kapugadera, who could only prod the ball tamely to Suresh Raina at mid-off.
At 183-5 going into the last 10 overs, India were well on top but with Jayawardene still at the crease there was every chance of Sri Lanka posting a competitive total.
With Kulasekara (32 off 30 balls) scoring quickly at the other end, the former skipper began to take calculated risks, accelerating through the 80s and 90s and bringing up his hundred off 84 balls during the batting powerplay with consecutive boundaries off Zaheer.
Kulasekara’s run out brought Perera to the crease with two overs remaining, and the all-rounder did exactly what was needed, swinging from the hip to smash 22 off nine deliveries, including 16 off the last four balls of the innings.
But although the late flurry propelled Sri Lanka to a competitive total, Gambhir and Dhoni ensured it was India who joined Australia and the West Indies as the only sides to win the World Cup more than once.

Courtesy of bbc.co.uk

The post India power to World Cup triumph appeared first on Dhaka Mirror.

Battle for glory

Admin — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 05:00:09 +0000

India-Sri Lanka WC final today
The curtain will fall on cricket’s biggest event today.
Besides some fortunate ones who have got the precious tickets to watch the match from the stands, billion of cricket-mad people around the world will stay glued to their TV screens when India lock horns with Sri Lanka in the all-Asian final of the ICC Cricket World Cup at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
The journey began with a gala opening ceremony in Dhaka on February 17 and everybody is now waiting for a grand finish to a successful World Cup in the subcontinent.
The question was all around: Is it MS Dhoni after Kapil Dev or is it Kumar Sangakkara after Arjuna Ranatunga? Whoever takes the trophy in the end would make it their second success for their country. But while India are looking forward to put an end to their twenty-eight year wait, rivals Sri Lanka are looking forward to lift it after fifteen years.
Everybody was expecting a great final match at the sporting wicket of the Wankhede Stadium as the best two teams qualified into the final. India might be tagged as a favourite in the final encounter but Sri Lanka proved themselves as the most professional team in the tournament though it would be a big challenge for the Lankans to play against the partisan crowd and conditions that are unlike their home ones.
Without any doubt, a final match itself was good enough to bring all the excitement and hype but still there has been something more for the cricket lovers. Two great characters in the world cricket in Sachin Tendulkar and Muttiah Muralidaran have hogged the spotlight in the lead-up to the final. It seems that there will be another battle within the final although both the captains tried to focus only on the team effort for success in the last battle.
The focus will be on the spin wizard Muralidaran, who is expected to play his last international match today although there has been some uncertainty with his participation in the last game due to injury.
Indian skipper MS Dhoni however firmly believed that the highest wicket-taker would not miss this opportunity.
“Murali is a very special individual. He will definitely play the game unless he is on one leg,” quipped the Indian skipper during a pre-match press conference.
Praising Murali all the way, Sri Lanka skipper Kumar Sangakkara however was not ready to focus only on one player. “Our cricket has never been about individuals. We never had a tournament where it’s been one person’s tournament, always had collective efforts. World Cup or any other match, victory is only possible if everyone contributes,” said a toned down Sangakkara.
On the other hand, master blaster Sachin Tendulkar has achieved many things in his 21-year long career but has yet to be part of a World Cup winning team. But it is set up perfectly and nothing can be better than if India wins this at his home ground. And it would definitely be a special occasion for the Little Master, if he also gets his hundredth international century in the final in front of his home crowd.
“God made him (Sachin Tendulkar) to play cricket. He is an amazing character,” said Dhoni while his attention was drawn with the special occasion.
“We’re not here to spoil anything. Everyone understands the importance of scoring runs in a final, whether it be Sachin or anyone else. One hundred 100s it’s the first time a player is going to get there. All of that adds to the expectations for a World Cup final.” “Our job is to ensure that the India team doesn’t score too many runs,” Sangakkara responded on the Sachin issue.
The Sri Lankan skipper however was more interested with the tournament.
“It’s been a great tournament. I always say that the sub-continent is the place to play cricket in. There’s no other place that can match the buzz, the excitement, the hype around the game, the passion and the love for the game as well. When you play a tournament of this magnitude here, it kind of lifts the entire occasion and makes that occasion a lot more glorious,” said the experienced campaigner.
In terms of quality of matches, interest of the fans and successful arrangement the tournament has really been a great success, a fact that ICC president Sharad Pawar did not fail to mention prior to the final. Now all we need is a quality final that can give a fitting farewell to the 40-day tourney.

Courtesy of The Daily Star

The post Battle for glory appeared first on Dhaka Mirror.

It’s India vs SL in the final

Admin — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 01:07:45 +0000

Hosts edge out arch-rivals Pakistan in tense battle
An atypical Sachin Tendulkar, a menacing Munaf Patel and a wily spell of spin bowling from Harbhajan Singh propelled India into the final of the 2011 World Cup, with a hard fought 29 win over arch-rivals Pakistan at Mohali yesterday.
India will now face Sri Lanka in a battle for sub-continental and world supremacy in the final at Mumbai on April 2.
Despite the heated interest in the game (an estimated 1 billion people across the world watched the game), it was really not a classic, but rather a gripping affair that swung patently one way and the other, before the hosts managed to wrest the initiative in the latter half of the game to end with an ultimately comfortable victory. The win also keeps India’s record of not having lost a World Cup match against Pakistan intact.
Tendulkar’s scratchy 85 was the highest score in the game as India put on an imposing looking 260 for the loss of nine wickets in their fifty overs before restricting Pakistan to 231 through a disciplined effort with the ball, best illustrated by the even distribution of the ten wickets among all five bowlers.
India’s total could have been far less had Pakistan not put in an absolutely shocking shift in the field, dropping catches like nine pins. Their fielding did not back up a solid effort with the ball, led by left-arm quick Wahab Riaz who finished with 5-46 in his ten overs.
The great Tendulkar fell 15 short of what would have been a magical hundredth international hundred, but he will certainly not mind, since the prize for this victory is a chance for a shot at the World Cup title; a piece of silverware that has agonisingly eluded him all throughout a glittering 21-year career.
Set a target of 260 on a track that was rapidly crumbling and slowing, Pakistan started brightly enough with openers Mohammad Hafeez and Kamran Akmal putting the hard new ball to good use. The pair put on 44 in eight overs before Akmal drove uppishly at a Zaheer Khan slower ball to Yuvraj at point.
His opening partner Hafeez fell after playing an inexplicable shot, trying to drag a ball from wide outside off-stump to fine leg and edging it to MS Dhoni.
Hafeez had looked the most dangerous Paksitan batsman, his 43 made in quick time and laced with seven beautiful boundaries.
Pakistan never seemed to recover from his dismissal and they failed to string partnerships together for the rest of the innings.
Younis Khan made a strangely struggling 13, while a potentially dangerous innings from Umar Akmal was cut short by Harbhajan.
Misbah-ul-Haq held up his end, playing the sheet anchor role with a sedate knock, but his 56 of 76 balls in truth never threatened to take the game away from the Indians..
The run rate was always against the Pakistanis and most of the batsmen fell trying to accelerate; captain Shahid Afridi’s wild swipe at a low Harbajhan full-toss epitomising the Pakistani demise.
Earlier, a charmed Tendulkar managed to survive four dropped chances and two other close calls; one stumping decision that could have gone either way and one leg-before that was originally ruled out, but salvaged on referral.
Tendulkar top-scored with 85 in India’s total of 260, which had at one point of time, threatened to spiral into the high 300s through a rollicking start, provided to the hosts by Virender Sehwag.
Sehwag slammed 21 off Umar Gul’s second over, setting up a terrible day with the leather for the tall Pakistani quick who went for 69 in his eight overs.
But Sehwag’s imposing looking innings was soon brought to a close by Riaz, who was undoubtedly Pakistan’s star of the day. The left-arm quick who was a late inclusion in the side ahead of Shoaib Akhtar, showed that his inclusion was with good reason, generating good pace with swing and seam movement.
He dismissed Sehwag in his first over and then later took two in two balls to finish with a career best 5 for 46.
Riaz was ably supported in the bowling department by Saeed Ajmal, who took 2-44 in his ten overs, including the wicket of Tendulkar courtesy of a sharp catch by Afridi at short cover. It was no less than Ajmal deserved after continually troubling the great man with his flight and turn.
But at the end, it was Tendulkar’s India who progressed and the man dubbed the “Little Master” will look forward to another engaging spin battle in the final. This time his adversary will be an old foe; Sri Lanka legend Muttiah Muralidaran who will also be making his last bow this Saturday.

Courtesy of The Daily Star

The post It’s India vs SL in the final appeared first on Dhaka Mirror.

More than a semi

Admin — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 00:23:52 +0000

The World Cup 2011 will reach its zenith as the two fiercest rivals of world cricket, India and Pakistan, square off against each other in a semifinal match in Mohali today. The excitement has already reached fever pitch, with Indian police leaving no stone unturned to ensure peaceful progress of a match where both the prime ministers of the two countries, Manmohan Singh of India and Yousuf Raza Gilani of Pakistan, will be in attendance.
This will be the fifth World Cup encounter between the two countries, and interestingly, India have won all their previous four matches against their great rivals. In this edition, both teams have shown stellar form, with Pakistan topping their group and India knocking out defending champions Australia in the quarterfinals. Shahid Afridi, Pakistan’s captain, has said that the pressure will be on home team India, while others say that playing at home will be an advantage for the 1983 Cup winners. Pakistan last won the World Cup in 1992.
It will also be the first match on Indian soil between the two countries since the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks for which Indians blamed the Pakistanis, further souring already-tense relations.
Many offices are set to be closed in the afternoon in both the countries, while thousands of Pakistanis are set to take part in a mass prayer session today. The chief minister of Pakistan’s largest province has promised each player 25 acres of land if they beat India. In further evidence of the craze that has gripped the populace of the two countries, the match will be televised live at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium where supporters will watch the marquee game free of charge.
Police said they were “leaving nothing to chance” with a security blanket involving 2,000 police and paramilitary personnel around the venue in Mohali. Aside from the many police on duty, the security deployment will reportedly involve anti-aircraft guns and missiles.

Courtesy of The Daily Star

The post More than a semi appeared first on Dhaka Mirror.