The long wait was over for West Indies. They were once the mighty West Indies, proud owners and creators of a formidable legacy, but over the last decade and a half have been a shadow of their former selves. Since their second ODI World Cup triumph during the glory days in 1979, their only ICC multinational tournament silverware was the 2004 Champions Trophy in
world twenty20
World T20 final today
The ICC World Twenty20 reaches its climax today with two deserving, talented teams in Sri Lanka and West Indies facing off in the final at the R Premadasa International Cricket Stadium in Colombo.
The match starts at 7:30pm Bangladesh time. State-run Bangladesh Television will show the match live.
The final marks an opportunity for both teams to add major silverware to their respective
Aussies caught in Gayle force
West Indies set up final with SL
Chris Gayle smashed an unbeaten 75 off 41 balls as the West Indies stormed into the World Twenty20 final with a record 74-run demolition of Australia in Colombo yesterday.
The left-hander pounded six sixes and five fours as the Windies piled up the tournament’s highest total of 205-4 after electing to bat on what was regarded as a slow
‘Our bowlers won us the game’
The party is on for the home team fans. Sri Lanka, backed by 35,000 electrifying fans in the big bowl, won the bowlers-dominated first semifinal by 16 runs against 2009 champions
Pakistan to reach another final of a global event of ICC. Mahela Jayawardene & Co are now one match away from emulating their feat of 1996 when they won the
Lankans shift loyalty
For the first time in the World Twenty20 the home fans turned their back on Pakistan here Thursday, naturally so because their semifinal opponents were none other than the hosts Sri Lanka.
Pakistan had received good support, even in their Super Eights match against arch-rivals India in Colombo on Sunday, but R Premadasa Stadium reverberated for
A chance to break new ground
In recent times it has been always Australia that has called the shots in their wonderful historic rivalry against West Indies, but history will not count when the two meet in the second semifinal of the ICC World Twenty20 at the R Premadasa International Stadium today.
Instead of their storied rivalry, it was the prospect of the explosive Chris Gayle being
Consistency key for hosts
First semi-final today
He was just a 10-year-old boy when Sri Lanka won the 1996 ICC World Cup under the leadership of Arjuna Ranatunga, but the memory of that glorious day is still fresh in the mind of Jayantha Silva, a cricket-crazy fan who has since been waiting to celebrate a success like that. It was just last year that India broke the hearts of millions like him. Sri Lanka were strong
Pakistan look to be positive
A win is always a tonic for any team and it is especially so when it comes in the form of the victory Pakistan achieved against Australia in their last Super Eights match, a victory that saw them qualify for today’s first semifinal against hosts Sri Lanka at the R Premadasa International Stadium.
Pakistan captain Mohammad Hafeez’s gleaming face during the pre-match press conference
India win but fail to make semis
Australia, Pakistan thru’
Former champions India beat South Africa by one run Tuesday but still crashed out of the World Twenty20 as Pakistan went through to the semifinals by virtue of a higher run-rate.
India made 152-6 in their 20 overs and needed to restrict South Africa to 121 runs or less to reach the last four at Pakistan’s expense. In the event they bowled their
Australia crushed by Pakistan spin
Pakistan staged a dramatic comeback after a dismal show against perennial rivals India to increase their chances of qualifying for the semifinal of the ICC World Twenty20. They not only brought down the high-flying Australians with a convincing spin-inspired 32-run victory at the R Premadasa International Stadium, but also left their archrivals a daunting task against
SL play the trick game
Sri Lanka came up with a strange yet sensible move on Monday in their final Super Eights game against England to avoid the captain or vice-captain being ruled out for the crucial semifinal of the ICC World Twenty20 for maintaining repeated slow over rates.
ICC regulations dictate that two slow over rate offences within a period of 12 months
Windies oust NZ in Super Over
West Indies knocked New Zealand out of the World Twenty20 in a dramatic Super Over Monday after their group one match finished in a tie.
Both teams were locked at 139 after 40 overs at Pallekele stadium, sending the match to the tense Super Over decider. New Zealand
Malinga sends champs England crashing
Slinging bowler Lasith Malinga took a career-best five wickets as Sri Lanka beat England by 19 runs to reach the World Twenty20 semi-finals and send the defending champions crashing out Monday.
Malinga took 5-31 as England, chasing a daunting 170-run target, were restricted to 150-9 in the Super Eights match at Pallekele stadium before a packed and rowdy
All to play for in Group 2
Those wanting to know the semifinals line-up of the ICC World Twenty20 will have to wait for the result of today’s last Super Eights match between India and South Africa. All eyes will be fixed on the R Premadasa International Cricket Stadium as undefeated Australia lock horns with a wounded Pakistan in the day’s first match, which will be followed by the last encounter between
Indo-Pak clash stirs Lankan passion
At noon when the media bus started its trip from the Singhalese Sports Club, the headquarters of Sri Lanka Cricket, towards R Premadasa International Cricket Stadium, the city streets were almost deserted as Sunday is the weekly holiday in the country. And that was why it took only ten minutes to reach the destination, which is not the case on regular office
Indo-Pak battle today
The fixity of purpose is often not good enough when India and Pakistan lock horns in any format of the game because it requires more than that. There will likely be no exception to that general rule when the two perennial rivals meet in a crucial Super Eights match of the ICC World Twenty20 at the R Premadasa Cricket Stadium today. The relative skills and strengths at times takes
Take a long view
Bangladesh cricket is in a strange place now. The Tigers’ winless exit from the ICC World Twenty20 should not be cause for outrage, neither can it be said that it was expected. If the emotions of a cricket-crazed nation can be pushed aside for a moment, the impression that emerges is that Bangladesh’s World Twenty20 campaign has not really revealed anything new about the country’s
Super-Eights begin today
Bangladesh may have bowed out with a heart-breaking loss to Pakistan on Tuesday, but the World Twenty 20 shifts into a higher gear today as the Super Eights round kicks-off an intense battle for the semifinal berths.
The preliminary league, which ended on Tuesday, separated the men from the boys as Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan and Ireland all exited the competition. Interestingly, all eight seeded
Shakib show in vain
It was an outstanding knock from an outstanding player. But Shakib Al Hasan’s masterful 84-run innings was still not good enough for Bangladesh as they crashed out of the ICC World Twenty20 after defeat to Pakistan at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium last night.
In the end, Pakistan chased down the Tigers’ challenging total of 175, Bangladesh’s highest
‘We failed to back up Shakib’
Praising Shakib Al Hasan’s innings highly, Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim held the conditions responsible for their failure in the ICC World Twenty20 yesterday. The wicketkeeper-batsman in the post-match briefing said that his team lost the game, against Pakistan by eight wickets, despite putting up a challenging total on the board mainly because of their