Sunday, June 14, 2009

INDIA VS ENGLAND T20:Their backs against the wall after a loss to New Zealand, India bounced back brilliantly to stun top teams like Australia, South


Jolted by the defeat against West Indies, India take on an equally desperate England in a do-or-die Super Eights match here on Sunday, fully aware that a slip-up would all but end their hopes of retaining the T20 World Cup trophy.The unexpected seven-wicket defeat at the hands of West Indies has left Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men in a must-win situation in the remaining two matches, the second of which is against title contenders South Africa on June 16.The road to semi-finals seems tough but the Indians can draw inspiration from their campaign in the 2007 edition where they were in a similar situation.The batting might have been a let-down on Friday but the bowlers have done well all through with the pace trio of Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma and Irfan Pathan making good use of the seaming conditions here.Dhoni's opposite number Paul Collingwood acknowledges the enormity of the task ahead but insists that his team has what it takes to upstage India.

"It is not going to be easy against India. We are in a very tough group but we have the guys to win the next few games and win the tournament," he said.England's over-reliance on Kevin Pietersen has been a concern for a while and Collingwood would be hoping that the likes of Luke Wright and Ravi Bopara also chip in. The bowling is also fragile with pace spearhead Stuart Broad being inconsistent at best.Both the teams are in a desperate situation but Dhoni says being under pressure only motivates his side to do well.

"This brings the best out of us. We'll be under pressure to perform in the next game but that was the story in the last World Cup", he said."After the first (Super Eights) game, every other game was a do-or-die situation for us and we played some of the toughest teams and got through to the finals to win the Cup so it's not like we can't do it again," the Indian skipper said.

sports updates  

Online Cricket Games

Monday, June 1, 2009

AUSTRALIA VS BANGLADESH T20 WARM UP MATCH: BAN LOSE TO AUSSIES


Bangladesh lost to Australia by 38 runs in the opening warm-up game against Bangladesh in the second edition of the ICC World Twenty20 Championship here on Monday.Chasing a mammoth 220, Bangladesh reached a decent 181-7 in 20 overs with Shakib Al Hasan smashing 54of only 29 balls that included six fours and two sixes.Mitchell Johnson was the pick of the bowlers, picking three wickets and giving away only 21 runs in his four overs.After Australia elected to bat, Shane Watson and Brad Haddin powered Australia to 219-6.Watson top scored with 52 and Haddin chipped in with 47 runs. Other valuable contributions came from Michael Clarke who made 35 and Symonds 27.

India have the edge in T20 WC, says Vettori


 With more Twenty20 games under their belt, India have a slight edge over the other teams in the ICC World T20 Championship starting here on June 5, feels New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori."You have to look at India. First and foremost they have probably played the most Twenty20 cricket in terms of individuals and the guys have gone ahead playing in the IPL," Vettori said at the official press conference here on Sunday.However, the Kiwi captain is also not ready to undermine the other teams."Sri Lanka will be dangerous with their bowling as (Muttiah) Muralitharan, (Lasith) Malinga and (Ajantha) Mendis will be tough to score off."Then there is Australia and South Africa, they also have a very formidable line up," Vettori added.His Pakistani counterpart Younis Khan said he was confident of winning the trophy this time but even a final four finish would give a boost to cricket in his country.

"My confidence is that I'll take this trophy to Pakistan. Even if we don't win it will be an achievement for us to finish in the top four," he said."Winning the tournament will be great impetus for our cricket. If we play good cricket it will be good for our nation. These days our country is depressed. Only cricket will start cheering the people there," he added.Younis felt it was not necessary for top order batsmen to go for big shots right from the start off. "Twenty20 looks short, but it's not -- 120 balls is enough If you bat normally but with energy, especially in the middle order and with good runners between the wickets, 180-90 is very easy."In English conditions the new ball does seam, so you need someone like Salman Butt who can play for 20 overs. But in the middle order, we have big hitters like Shahid Afridi and Misbah-Ul-Haq."On the defeat to India in the 2007 final, Younis said, "We could not finish off the match when we needed only five runs. But it was fantastic to be a part of that team. Some guys were crying at the end, but hopefully we'll have the finishing touches this time," Younis said.Khan said opener Salman Butt and middle order Misbah-ul-Haq have niggling injuries but should recover in time for the first game at The Oval against England on June 7.West Indies captain Chris Gayle said his side has the wherewithal to emerge winners despite going into the tournament on the back of defeats to England in the recent Test and ODI series.

"Any team can win. We are confident we can win. It won't be easy but we are looking forward to it," he said.His first priority though is to get into the second stage by qualifying from the tough group which also has Australia and Sri Lanka."It would be nice to be up in there in the top four but the first priority is to try and get to the second stage and then we can take it from there," he said."It is a big disadvantage (to have been drawn with Australia and Sri Lanka) but at the same time it is good to get them early and once we can get past these two tough teams it will be easy in the next round. We will see what they have to offer."Gayle was also happy that his side had recorded victories over Scotland and Ireland in the preparation for the tournament."It's good to get a couple of wins under our belt. It's been good for the guys to get that feel (of winning) again."