India’s performance in Champions Trophy

October 03, 2009 By: Spunky Category: Champions Trophy 2009 No Comments →

India had one win, one wash out and one loss and they are out of the Champions Trophy. They started the tournament with the No.1 ranking but have ended up with a messy performance. Against Pakistan, neither batting nor bowling was excellent. Australia were well on their way to post a target close to 300 when skies started pouring. The performance was good against West Indies. It happened when the game between Pakistan and Australia was goint on. India would have had a good chance if only Australia hadn’t shown a nail-biting last ball victory.
Has India performed better in the tournament? Dhoni said “It is tough for me to decide if we were good in the tournament because we were off the boil only in one game. Even when we were chasing 300-odd runs against Pakistan if we had capitalised on the start we got, we could have won the game. That was our off game. The second game was washed out and the third one we won. It is really difficult to say if this performance was bad. I was much more disappointed about the World T20 performance as we were really off the mark.”
Dhoni also added that the team missed bowling all-rounder who can contribute with bat and even ball at the time of need. “One of the reasons the Australian side is good is because they can play up to six specialist bowlers and they can all bat. If you look at Mitchell Johnson and Brett Lee, they can all bat and contribute a bit. I have always said we need to find a seam up bowler who can contribute with the bat because it always gives you the option of playing two spinners. At times, when you play five bowlers and six batsmen it is a worry because in day and night games chasing can become a problem if you lose early wickets. In this tournament we were forced to play with five bowlers and not all of them could bat.”

India had one win, one wash out and one loss and they are out of the Champions Trophy. They started the tournament with the No.1 ranking but have ended up with a messy performance. Against Pakistan, neither batting nor bowling was excellent. Australia were well on their way to post a target close to 300 when skies started pouring. The performance was good against West Indies. It happened when the game between Pakistan and Australia was goint on. India would have had a good chance if only Australia hadn’t shown a nail-biting last ball victory.

Has India performed better in the tournament? Dhoni said “It is tough for me to decide if we were good in the tournament because we were off the boil only in one game. Even when we were chasing 300-odd runs against Pakistan if we had capitalised on the start we got, we could have won the game. That was our off game. The second game was washed out and the third one we won. It is really difficult to say if this performance was bad. I was much more disappointed about the World T20 performance as we were really off the mark.”

Dhoni also added that the team missed bowling all-rounder who can contribute with bat and even ball at the time of need. “One of the reasons the Australian side is good is because they can play up to six specialist bowlers and they can all bat. If you look at Mitchell Johnson and Brett Lee, they can all bat and contribute a bit. I have always said we need to find a seam up bowler who can contribute with the bat because it always gives you the option of playing two spinners. At times, when you play five bowlers and six batsmen it is a worry because in day and night games chasing can become a problem if you lose early wickets. In this tournament we were forced to play with five bowlers and not all of them could bat.”

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ICC Rankings: India tops after SA lost to Sri Lanka

September 23, 2009 By: Spunky Category: Champions Trophy 2009, Cricket News No Comments →

After the host South Africa’s lost to Sri Lanka in the opening match of Champions Trophy, India has moved from second place to the top of the ICC’s ODI rankings. India is yet to open their innings in the ongoing Champions Trophy. They are scheduled to take on Pakistan on September 26. Currently after South Africa’s defeat, India stands on top of the table with 126 points while South Africa has crashed to the third.
With South Africa dropping down, Australia has moved up to the second. Fourth place is held by Sri Lanka and following them is Pakistan at number 5. This ICC ranking are said to change more in the next few days as the Champions Trophy continues.

After the host South Africa’s lost to Sri Lanka in the opening match of Champions Trophy, India has moved from second place to the top of the ICC’s ODI rankings. India is yet to open their innings in the ongoing Champions Trophy. They are scheduled to take on Pakistan on September 26. Currently after South Africa’s defeat, India stands on top of the table with 126 points while South Africa has crashed to the third.

With South Africa dropping down, Australia has moved up to the second. Fourth place is held by Sri Lanka and following them is Pakistan at number 5. This ICC ranking are said to change more in the next few days as the Champions Trophy continues.

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ICC ODI Ranking: India at no 2

September 15, 2009 By: Spunky Category: Cricket News No Comments →

After the victory over Sri Lanka in the tri-series Compaq Cup that concluded recently, India has regained the second spot in the ICC ODI ranking. India can clinch the top spot if they manage a good show in the Champions Trophy that begins on September 22 at South Africa.
There is just one point difference each between the top three rankings held by South Africa, India and Australia. There is also a chance for Australia to go to the top of the rankings if they manage a clean sweep against England.

After the victory over Sri Lanka in the tri-series Compaq Cup that concluded recently, India has regained the second spot in the ICC ODI ranking. India can clinch the top spot if they manage a good show in the Champions Trophy that begins on September 22 at South Africa.

There is just one point difference each between the top three rankings held by South Africa, India and Australia. There is also a chance for Australia to go to the top of the rankings if they manage a clean sweep against England.

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India dropped to 3rd place in ICC ODI rankings

September 14, 2009 By: Spunky Category: Cricket News No Comments →

After the defeat against Sri Lanka in the Compaq Cup tri-series followed by Australia’s win over England in the fourth One-dayer resulted to India dropping to third place in the ICC ODI rankings list.  India were displaced from the top spot within 24 hours of gaining it after their 139-run defeat against the hosts Sri Lanka.
Australia defeated England by seven wickets to take a 4-0 lead in the seven-match series, which pushed India to third. Both India and Australia have 125 points each but the latter are ahead when points were calculated upto decimals, according to the ICC website.
South Africa occupy the top slot. India will take on Sri Lanka in the final of the Compaq Cup on Monday in Colombo.

After the defeat against Sri Lanka in the Compaq Cup tri-series followed by Australia’s win over England in the fourth One-dayer resulted to India dropping to third place in the ICC ODI rankings list.  India were displaced from the top spot within 24 hours of gaining it after their 139-run defeat against the hosts Sri Lanka.

Australia defeated England by seven wickets to take a 4-0 lead in the seven-match series, which pushed India to third. Both India and Australia have 125 points each but the latter are ahead when points were calculated upto decimals, according to the ICC website.

South Africa occupy the top slot. India will take on Sri Lanka in the final of the Compaq Cup on Monday in Colombo.

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India’s Standing in ICC Test Championship Table

August 05, 2009 By: Spunky Category: Cricket News No Comments →

India have dropped down one place to fourth in the ICC Test Championships table after the annual update released on Tuesday, which reflects the performance of only the last three years with the older results being discarded.
Sri Lanka, riding on their Test series win over Pakistan, leveled India (119) on points but replaced Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s team at number three after re-calculation upto the nearest decimal 0.01 ratings points difference.
Australia (124) clung on to the top above second-placed South Africa (122) as just five ratings points separate top four teams.
But Ricky Ponting’s men must win both the remaining Ashes Tests to stay there. Otherwise, it will be Graeme Smith’s turn to lead the number-one Test team in the world.
Australia have led the Test rankings ever since the current method was introduced in May 2003.
The progress of Kumar Sangakkara’s team is due to a consistently high performance during the period of the rankings. In that time, the team has played 10 series, winning six, drawing three and losing just one (in Australia).
No matter how the Ashes finishes, England (99) will remain in fifth position but if the home side wins the series, Australia will drop to fourth position in the Test Championship table.
If the series ends in a 1-1 draw, South Africa will rise to the top. Australia, Sri Lanka and India will all have the same rating, but with Australia still clinging on to second place by a decimal point.
In the batting list, Gautam Gambhir remained on second spot with 847 points behind Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara (862).
Sachin Tendulkar (15th), VVS Laxman (17th) and Virender Sehwag (19th) are the other Indian batsmen in the top 20.
Among bowlers, Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan are in top 10 at sixth and ninth respectively while Ishant Sharma is in 19th in the list headed by South African Dale Steyn.
The annual update is carried out to ensure the ICC Test Championship table continues to reflect recent form with older results being discarded.
The table reflects all Test series that were completed since August three years ago. All series played until the start of next August will be added to this table, so by then the ratings will be based on four years of results, with series completed within the last two years carrying greater weight.
Next August the first year of results will be dropped and this pattern is repeated each August, with the oldest of the four years of results removed to be gradually replaced with results of series completed over the following 12 months.
Thus, once a year, the rankings change overnight without any new series being completed.

India have dropped down one place to fourth in the ICC Test Championships table after the annual update released on Tuesday, which reflects the performance of only the last three years with the older results being discarded.

Sri Lanka, riding on their Test series win over Pakistan, leveled India (119) on points but replaced Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s team at number three after re-calculation upto the nearest decimal 0.01 ratings points difference.

Australia (124) clung on to the top above second-placed South Africa (122) as just five ratings points separate top four teams.

But Ricky Ponting’s men must win both the remaining Ashes Tests to stay there. Otherwise, it will be Graeme Smith’s turn to lead the number-one Test team in the world.

Australia have led the Test rankings ever since the current method was introduced in May 2003.

The progress of Kumar Sangakkara’s team is due to a consistently high performance during the period of the rankings. In that time, the team has played 10 series, winning six, drawing three and losing just one (in Australia).

No matter how the Ashes finishes, England (99) will remain in fifth position but if the home side wins the series, Australia will drop to fourth position in the Test Championship table.

If the series ends in a 1-1 draw, South Africa will rise to the top. Australia, Sri Lanka and India will all have the same rating, but with Australia still clinging on to second place by a decimal point.

In the batting list, Gautam Gambhir remained on second spot with 847 points behind Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara (862).

Sachin Tendulkar (15th), VVS Laxman (17th) and Virender Sehwag (19th) are the other Indian batsmen in the top 20.

Among bowlers, Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan are in top 10 at sixth and ninth respectively while Ishant Sharma is in 19th in the list headed by South African Dale Steyn.

The annual update is carried out to ensure the ICC Test Championship table continues to reflect recent form with older results being discarded.

The table reflects all Test series that were completed since August three years ago. All series played until the start of next August will be added to this table, so by then the ratings will be based on four years of results, with series completed within the last two years carrying greater weight.

Next August the first year of results will be dropped and this pattern is repeated each August, with the oldest of the four years of results removed to be gradually replaced with results of series completed over the following 12 months.

Thus, once a year, the rankings change overnight without any new series being completed.

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Afridi might play for New South Wales

June 23, 2009 By: Spunky Category: Champions Trophy 2009, Player News No Comments →

Flamboyant all-rounder Shahid Afridi who guided Pakistan to glory in the ICC Twenty20 World Cup in England may soon receive an offer to play in Sheffield Shield for the Australian domestic side New South Wales.
The 29-year-old cricketer helped Pakistan win their first major title in 17 years by beating Sri Lanka by eight wickets in the final at Lord’s on Sunday.
Afridi put up an excellent all-round performance during the tournament, scoring 176 runs in seven matches which included two half-centuries and also scalped 11 wickets with an economy rate of 5.32.
If the deal materialises, Afridi would become one of the high-profile players to join an Australian side, after NSW’s selection of Kiwi Brendon McCullum for last season’s Big Bash final against Victoria, the report said.

Flamboyant all-rounder Shahid Afridi who guided Pakistan to glory in the ICC Twenty20 World Cup in England may soon receive an offer to play in Sheffield Shield for the Australian domestic side New South Wales.

The 29-year-old cricketer helped Pakistan win their first major title in 17 years by beating Sri Lanka by eight wickets in the final at Lord’s on Sunday.

Afridi put up an excellent all-round performance during the tournament, scoring 176 runs in seven matches which included two half-centuries and also scalped 11 wickets with an economy rate of 5.32.

If the deal materialises, Afridi would become one of the high-profile players to join an Australian side, after NSW’s selection of Kiwi Brendon McCullum for last season’s Big Bash final against Victoria, the report said.

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ICC T20 World Cup 2009: Teams & Schedules

May 31, 2009 By: Spunky Category: Champions Trophy 2009 No Comments →

The Last Season of T20 World Cup was won by India. In the upcoming season of ICC T20 World Cup 2009, 12 teams are going to participate in the tournament and all the teams are divided in to four groups as given Below :
Group A : India, Bangladesh, Ireland
Group B : Pakistan, England, Netherland
Group C : Australia, Sri Lanka, West Indies
Group D : South Africa, New Zealand, Scotland

The ICC T20 World Cup 2009 will be starting from Friday, June 5, 2009.

The tournament ends on Sunday, June 21, 2009 with the Final match at London.

Match No     Match                                         Day         Time     Venue
1                England v Netherlands         5-Jun-09     17:30     Lord’s
2                New Zealand v Scotland      6-Jun-09     10:00     The Oval
3               Australia v West Indies        6-Jun-09     13:30     The Oval
4               India v Bangladesh                 6-Jun-09     17:30     Trent Bridge
5               South Africa v Scotland        7-Jun-09     13;30     The Oval
6               England v Pakistan                  7-Jun-09     17:30     The Oval
7               Bangladesh v Ireland             8-Jun-09     13:30     Trent Bridge
8               Australia v Sri Lanka              8-Jun-09     17:30     Trent Bridge
9               Pakistan v Netherlands         9-Jun-09     13:30     Lord’s
10            New Zealand v South Africa 9-Jun-09     17:30     Lord’s
11            Sri Lanka v West Indies       10-Jun-09     13:30     Trent Bridge
12           India v Ireland                        10-Jun-09     17:30     Trent Bridge
13           D1 v A2                                       11-Jun-09     13:30     Trent Bridge
14           B2 v D2                                       11-Jun-09     17:30     Trent Bridge
15           B1 v C2                                       12-Jun-09     13:30     Lord’s
16          A1 v C1                                        12-Jun-09     17:30     Lord’s
17          C1 v D2                                        13-Jun-09     13:30     The Oval
18          D1 v B1                                         13-Jun-09     17:30     The Oval
19          A2 v C2                                        14-Jun-09     13:30     Lord’s
20         A1 v B2                                         14-Jun-09     17:30     Lord’s
21          B1 v A2                                         15-Jun-09     13:30     The Oval
22          B2 v C1                                         15-Jun-09     17:30     The Oval
23         D1 v C2                                         16-Jun-09     13:30     Trent Bridge
24         D2 v A1                                        16-Jun-09     17:30     Trent Bridge
25      1st Semi-Final                              18-Jun-09     17:30     Trent Bridge
26     2nd Semi-Final                             19-Jun-09     17:30     The Oval
27         Final                                             21-Jun-09     15:00     Lord’s

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T20 World Cup 2009: Australian Squad Announced – Lee, Symonds back

May 07, 2009 By: Spunky Category: Champions Trophy 2009 No Comments →

Cricket Australia on Tuesday named injured pacer Brett Lee and all-rounder Andrew Symonds in its 15-member squad for next month’s ICC World Twenty20.

Talking about Lee’s inclusion in the squad, Cricket Australia’s chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch said, “Brett Lee is progressing well and will return to international cricket in Thursday’s Twenty20 game against Pakistan.

“We expect it will take him a few games to regain his rhythm after the extended break but the medical and coaching staff are very confident Brett will be back to his best for this tournament,” he said.

Lee has been out of action after sustaining a foot and ankle injury against South Africa last December.

Symonds had an indifferent form with the bat ever since returning to the national side for the one-day series against Pakistan but Hilditch showed lot of trust in the all-rounder’s ability.

“At his best Andrew Symonds is one of the best Twenty20 players in the world. In limited opportunities in the UAE he showed, during game two, his ability to win games for Australia. He also adds versatility to our squad,” Hilditch said.

The side also includes all-rounder Shane Watson and hard-hitting batsmen David Hussey and youngster David Warner. The bowling line-up is also pretty impressive with Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Bracken and Peter Siddle giving Lee company.

Ricky Ponting will lead the side with Michael Clarke named vice-captain.

Team: Ricky Ponting (captain), Michael Clarke (vice-captain), Nathan Bracken, Brad Haddin, Nathan Hauritz, Ben Hilfenhaus, James Hopes, David Hussey, Mike Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Peter Siddle, Andrew Symonds, David Warner, Shane Watson.

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Mumbai Indians Vs Rajasthan Royals: A battle between Sachin and Warne

April 21, 2009 By: Spunky Category: IPL 2010 - IPL 3 No Comments →

Today’s match between the Rajasthan Royals and the Mumbai Indians will once again put Sachin Tendulkar against Shane Warne.

Sachin has been the winner during most of their legendary duels, though Warne has also had his moments.

When they played for their countries, for a long time it was Sachin being a one-man army for India, while Warne was backed by the awesome might of the Australian team.

The tables are turned now, with Sachin’s Mumbai Indians looking to be one of the few teams punters feel will surely make the semi-finals, while Warne’s Rajasthan Royals are down in the dumps and would look to their captain for inspiration and that special spark that he seems to be able to summon from nowhere.

If Sachin can survive the inital overs, until Warne comes on to bowl, then look out for the fascinating battle within a battle, when two of the game’s finest put their minds and their crafts against each other.

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Gilchrist feels younger playing IPL

April 20, 2009 By: Spunky Category: Player News No Comments →

Gilchrist might have dropped the curtains of his international career more than a year back, but this Deccan Chargers skipper said he still feels like a teenager who can’t wait for the cricket season to start.

The former Australian wicket-keeper batsman, who bid adieu to his international career in January last year, said he didn’t play much competitive cricket after the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League and was nervous ahead of their opening encounter against Kolkata Knight Riders which they comprehensively won by eight wickets last night.

“When I was a 14-year-old we had one season off and used to wait for another season to play cricket,” he said.

Apart from lauding his team-mates for the victory, Gilchrist also showered praise on coach and fellow Australian Darren Lehman, saying the left-hander had played a key role in reviving the fortunes of the Hyderabad outfit who finished at the bottom of the IPL table last year.

The 37-year-old dashing Aussie feels his predecessor in Deccan Chargers team, VVS Laxman will have a major role to play in difficult South Africa turfs.

“He is an experienced campaigner. We all know about his achievements in Test cricket. The pitches here will suit Laxman’s style of play. He likes the ball coming onto the bat and loves playing those elegant shots while taking his own time,” Gilchrist said.

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