Sunday, April 6, 2014

Sri Lanka Won the Title for World T20-2014 Champion

Sri Lanka stunning win over India in the World T20 final underlines how success in hit-and-run cricket depends not on form, but on how a team performs over those 3 hours in the field.

MS Dhoni is Indians went into Sunday WT20 final in Dhaka as the only unbeaten team in the match, having coasted through 4 league matches and the semi-final against South Africa. But they faltered when it mattered most, their vaunted batting line-up managing just 130-4 in 20 overs against a disciplined Sri Lankan attack after being sent in to bat on a sluggish pitch.
Sri Lanka raced past the modest target with 13 balls to spare, with Sangakkara playing his last T20 international, like his long-time team-mate Jayawardene - leading the way with a glorious unbeaten 52.Sri Lanka had every reason to celebrate. They finally broke the habit of coming unstuck in title-deciding matches to record their first victory in 5 major limited-overs finals over the last 7 years.

The win was even sweeter for the 2 veterans. Jayawardene was captain when Sri Lanka lost the 50-over World Cup final to Australia in the Caribbean in 2007, and again when the West Indies won the 2012 World T20 in Sri Lanka.Sunday victory capped a successful 3-month tour of Bangladesh in which Sri Lanka won the bilateral Test, ODI and T20 series against the hosts, and lifted the Asia Cup one-day title in March.

The squad, which was led in the last 3 match by Lasith Malinga after T20 captain Dinesh Chandimal opted out due to poor form, Sri Lanka will return home on Tuesday richer by a million-dollar winning bonus announced by Sri Lanka Cricket before the final. It was a long wait for a title, but playing in five finals also showed we were a very good side, Jayawardene said after the win celebrations at the stadium.
This one means a lot to us. It's a nice way to sign off for both Kumar Sangakkara and me in T20 international cricket. But we are not going anywhere there are still Tests and one-day to play. Virat Kohli continued his stunning batting form with a well perfomence77 off 58 balls that earned him the player of theWT20-2014 tournament award for being the leading scorer with 319 runs.

But he found no support at the other end, with the normally-flamboyant Yuvraj Singh taking 21 deliveries to make a scratchy 11 that broke the tempo which Kohli had set. This from the same left-hander who smashed 6 sixes in one Stuart Broad over during India's victorious campaign in the inaugural World T20 in South Africa in 2007. He was also the player of the tournament in the 2011 World Cup.

Yuvraj Singh inconsistent form, which has already seen the cancer survivor axed from the Test and ODI squad, could finally see the end of the gifted batsman's international career.

The 5th editions of the World Twenty20 have now produced 5 different winners, with India success in 2007 followed by Pakistan (2009), England (2010), the West Indies in 2012, and now Sri Lanka (2014).

Friday, April 4, 2014

India goes to final match-2014 wt20 beat South Africa

It has been 14 years, 5 Champions Trophies, 5 World Cups and 4 World Twenty20s since South Africa last won a knockout match at an ICC event and that has not changed. Neither has the fact that India has not lost a semi-final under MS Dhoni captaincy. 

They marched into an all sub-continent final with a clinically cold-blooded chase against a South Africa team that put in one of their well performances in a crunch match but were still not good enough. South Africa had never lost a Twenty20 match after posting a 170-plus score before today and they would have thought they were halfway to breaking the hoodoo with that total.
South Africa challenging target of 173, India raced ahead through opening Rohit Sharma, who spanked boundaries off Duminy and upper cut spearhead Steyn for a six. Rohit had blazed to a 13-ball 24 when he skied left-arm pacer Beuran Hendricks for a simple catch. A Rahane and Rohit Sharma added first wicket partnership runs 39 for three overs.

As the required rate headed towards ten-per-over, India had the best men for the job in the center, mutual admirers Virat Kohli and Yuvraj Singh. The pair added 56 in just 39 balls to take the team to within 40 runs of the target.
Kohli was as much show-stealer as heart-breaker on Friday as he plundered a chanceless 44-ball 72 to book India a place in their 2nd World Twenty20 final, where they will take on an equally formidable Sri Lanka on Sunday. 

Ashwin played as big a role as Virat Kohli in the outcome as he returned excellent figures 4-0-22-3; including an amazing ‘Ball of the Decade’ bowled of the clueless opener Amla. Ashwin is accuracy all but accommodated for Mishra’s rank bad day at the office.
Captain FAF du Plessis (58, 41b) and JP Duminy (45, 40b) had earlier led the Proteas to 172/4, a score they had never failed to defend in this format.

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

West Indies goes to semi final beat Pakistan WT20

Defending champions West Indies charged into the World T20 semi-finals with a stunning 84-run win over Pakistan in a Super-10 match in Dhaka on Tuesday.

The West Indies recovered from a top-order meltdown to post 166-6 after electing to take 1st strike, before 3 wickets each by spin twins Samuel Badree and Sunil Narine skittled Pakistan for 82 in 17.5 overs.

The West Indies, who ended second behind unbeaten India in group 2, will clash with group one champions Sri Lanka in the 1st semi-final in Dhaka on Thursday. India, who won all their four league matches, meets South Africa at the same venue on Friday.

West Indies -166/6

D Bravo -46
D Sammy (C)-42*

Pakistan-82/10

S Maqsood -18
M Hafeez (C)-19

Best Bowling

S Badree-4-10-3
S Narine-4-16-3

Men of the Match
D Bravo (West Indies)

Sunday, March 30, 2014

Aus Knockout India fourth won for t20 series 2014

The strand connecting India’s four match wins in the on-going World Twenty20 is how easily they have won each time. Pakistan barely stretched them. West Indies were no challenge. Bangladesh induced a yawn and another win. Even though Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli failed Against Australia Match, India still put runs on the board with Yuvraj Singh counter-attacking 60 runs. 

Granted, it was a turning wicket. But nobody would have likely the contest to end even before India’s man of the moment, Amit Mishra, was brought on to bowl in the 12th over of the chase. Australia appalling shot selection notwithstanding, it was the sort of performance from India that would position them as the distinct title favorites.
The day belonged to Yuvraj. Coming in at Kohli fall, the veteran had the unenviable job of steadying the innings even as he searched within himself the ideal of the big match player he once was. The wickets of Ajinkya Rahane and Suresh Raina made things tougher for him. But in that commotion, Yuvraj found himself. 

Yuvraj continue own style batting With skipper MS Dhoni lending steady support, the duo added 84 runs in just 7 overs, and from thereon, it was India game to lose. 

Australia chase was a disaster. Aaron Finch, Cameron White, Warner all fell trying to go over the top. Shane Watson attempted to late-cut Mohit Sharma, but the ball was fast and skidded on to the stumps. Maxwell, one of the most dangerous hitters in the game today, smashed 3 sixes in the leg-side arc. 

But he was bowled trying to execute a ridiculous reverse-hit off Ravichandran Ashwin, who pushed in a carom ball. George Bailey was caught in the deep next over. At 63-6 in the 11th, it was game over even before Mishra had come on to bowl. 

When Amit Mishra did come on to bowl, he picked up 2 or more wickets, pushing his matches tally to 9-79. Ashwin is tally stands at 7-73. Jadeja is stands at 5-124. Complementing this impressive spin troika is Bhuvaneshwar Kumar is stunning economy rate of 4.33.