ICC Champions Trophy: Australia takes the Trophy

October 06, 2009 By: Spunky Category: Champions Trophy 2009 No Comments →

Australia have clinched the Champions Trophy by winning over New Zealand by 6 wickets at the Supersport Park in centurion.
New Zealand who opted to bat first scored 200 runs from 50 overs losing 9 wickets while the Aussies were successful in achieving the target with 4.4 overs remaining.
Though Australia lost Paine and Ponting in the beginning, the opener Shane Watson (105 not out) and White (62) played wonderful shots.
After White was bowled by Mills, Hussey (11) joined Watson but were unable to hold on the partnership due to Mills excellent bowling.
It was Hopes and Watson who finished the match with 206/4 from 45.2 overs.
Shane Watson was declared man of the match and Ricky Ponting was declared player of the series.

Australia has clinched the ICC Champions Trophy by winning over New Zealand by 6 wickets at the Supersport Park in Centurion.

New Zealand who opted to bat first, scored 200 runs from 50 overs losing 9 wickets. While the Aussies were successful in achieving the target with 4.4 overs remaining.

Though Australia lost Paine and Ponting in the beginning, the opener Shane Watson (105 not out) and White (62) played wonderful shots.

After White was bowled by Mills, Hussey (11) joined Watson but were unable to hold on the partnership due to Mills’ excellent bowling.

It was Hopes and Watson who finished the match with 206/4 from 45.2 overs.

Shane Watson was declared man of the match and Ricky Ponting was declared player of the series.

Tags: , , , , , ,

Related posts

ICC Champions Trophy: Finals: New Zealand Vs Australia

October 05, 2009 By: Spunky Category: Champions Trophy 2009 No Comments →

At last the finals have arrived and New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori has pulled a hamstring injury and is not playing in the finals at the Supersport Park in Centurion. He is replaced by Jeetan Patel. Brendon McCullum is leading the Kiwi’s. Australia have gone unchanged.
After winning toss, New Zealand opted to bat first and are suffering as Australia have been taking wickets steadily. The current skipper of Kiwi’s McCullum was dismissed with no run.
Redmond (26) and Guptill (40) managed to bring the score to 66 in the 19th over when they lost Redmond and within the next few overs Guptill was bowled by Hauritz and thus shaking the top batting order.
Neil Broom (37) and James Franklin (33) tried to make up but missed it.
With just 5 overs remaining, the Kiwis are struggling with just 2 more wickets.
Nathan Hauritz has taken 3 wickets and Brett Lee with 2. Siddle and Johnson have got 1 wicket each.
The unavailability of Vettori is very much seen as he has been good with both bat and ball through out the tournament.

At last the finals have arrived and New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori has pulled a hamstring injury and is not playing in the finals at the Supersport Park in Centurion. He is replaced by Jeetan Patel. Brendon McCullum is leading the Kiwi’s. Australia have gone unchanged.

After winning toss, New Zealand opted to bat first and are suffering as Australia have been taking wickets steadily. The current skipper of Kiwi’s McCullum was dismissed with no run.

Redmond (26) and Guptill (40) managed to bring the score to 66 in the 19th over when they lost Redmond and within the next few overs Guptill was bowled by Hauritz and thus shaking the top batting order.

Neil Broom (37) and James Franklin (33) tried to make up but missed it.

With just 5 overs remaining, the Kiwis are struggling with just 2 more wickets.

Nathan Hauritz has taken 3 wickets and Brett Lee with 2. Siddle and Johnson have got 1 wicket each.

The unavailability of Vettori is very much seen as he has been good with both bat and ball through out the tournament.

Tags: , , , , , ,

Related posts

ICC Champions Trophy: Finals: New Zealand vs Australia

October 05, 2009 By: Spunky Category: Champions Trophy 2009 No Comments →

Daniel Vettori and his men have once again proved that they are no less a weaker team. Inspite of many injuries, they were successfull in reaching the modest target with ease.
After Pakistan opted to bat first in the second semi-final of the ICC Champions Trophy, they managed to score 233/9 from the 50 overs setting a target of 234 for the Kiwis.
It was Grant Elliot (75 not out) and the skipper Daniel Vettori (41) who contributed for the teams victory thereby moving to the finals to face the Austalia on MOnday.
Daniel Vettori was declared Man of the Match for the excellent 3 wicket haul and the 41 runs that helped the New Zealand win with 13 balls and 5 wickets remaining.
With this, New Zealand will face the Australians in the Finals at the Centurion.

Daniel Vettori and his men have once again proved that they are no more a weaker team. Inspite of many injuries, they were successfull in reaching the modest target with ease.

After Pakistan opted to bat first in the second semi-final of the ICC Champions Trophy, they managed to score 233/9 from the 50 overs setting a target of 234 for the Kiwis.

It was Grant Elliot (75 not out) and the skipper Daniel Vettori (41) who contributed for the teams victory thereby moving to the finals to face the Austalia on Monday.

Daniel Vettori was declared Man of the Match for the excellent 3 wicket haul and the 41 runs that helped the New Zealand win with 13 balls and 5 wickets remaining.

With this, New Zealand will face the Australians in the Finals at the Centurion.

Tags: , , , , ,

Related posts

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.”

Tags: , , , , ,

Related posts

ICC Champions Trophy: Pakistan Vs New Zealand: Pakistan won toss, opts to bat

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

Champions Trophy is nearing its climax with the second semi-final which will decide the other finalist. After Australia beat England in the first semi-final and made it to the finals with 8 wicket victory, today Pakistan take on New Zealand. Both the teamshave shown some impressive performances in the Champions Trophy and it will be a tough game to prove their consistency.
Pakistan is under pressure to re-establish their presence as a major force internationally. If they make it in Champions Trophy, it will be a follow-up win to the World T20 title.
Pakistan could face the problem with the unpredictable pitch at the Wanderers which has helped the Kiwis for two wins here. The spinners Shahid Afridi and Saeed Ajmal have outshined others in the event. Even Shoaib Malik looks to have proven that he is no more sluggish.
Meanwhile, New Zealand are proceeding with several injuries. Scott Styris has flown in as a cover for Grant Elliott, who has a thumb injury. Jacob Oram with hamstring injury, Jesse Ryder with groin and Daryl Tuffey with broken hand; New Zealand will have a tough time to replace.
Teams:
New Zealand: BB McCullum, AJ Redmond, MJ Guptill, LRPL Taylor, GD Elliott, NT Broom, JEC Franklin, DL Vettori, KD Mills, IG Butler, SE Bond
Pakistan: Kamran Akmal, Imran Nazir, Younis Khan, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Yousuf, Shahid Afridi, Umar Akmal, Naved-ul-Hasan, Mohammad Aamer, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal

Champions Trophy is nearing its climax with the second semi-final which will decide the other finalist. After Australia beat England in the first semi-final and made it to the finals with 9 wicket victory, today Pakistan take on New Zealand. Both the teamshave shown some impressive performances in the Champions Trophy and it will be a tough game to prove their consistency.

Pakistan is under pressure to re-establish their presence as a major force internationally. If they make it in Champions Trophy, it will be a follow-up win to the World T20 title.

Pakistan could face the problem with the unpredictable pitch at the Wanderers which has helped the Kiwis for two wins here. The spinners Shahid Afridi and Saeed Ajmal have outshined others in the event. Even Shoaib Malik looks to have proven that he is no more sluggish.

Meanwhile, New Zealand are proceeding with several injuries. Scott Styris has flown in as a cover for Grant Elliott, who has a thumb injury. Jacob Oram with hamstring injury, Jesse Ryder with groin and Daryl Tuffey with broken hand; New Zealand will have a tough time to replace.

Teams:

New Zealand: BB McCullum, AJ Redmond, MJ Guptill, LRPL Taylor, GD Elliott, NT Broom, JEC Franklin, DL Vettori, KD Mills, IG Butler, SE Bond

Pakistan: Kamran Akmal, Imran Nazir, Younis Khan, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Yousuf, Shahid Afridi, Umar Akmal, Naved-ul-Hasan, Mohammad Aamer, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal

Tags: , , ,

Related posts

ICC Champions Trophy: Semi-finals: England Vs Australia

October 02, 2009 By: Spunky Category: Champions Trophy 2009 No Comments →

The first semi-final of the Champions Trophy will see rejuvenated England taking on the favourite Australia in Centurion. England captain Andrew Strauss won the toss and elected to bat first at the SuperSport Park.
This is the eighth time the two sides are facing each other in the last six weeks. They just completed with the ODI series in England with Australia beating the host by 6-1 in the seven match series.
The Englishmen have come back strongly from last month’s alarming performance to post convincing victories over Sri Lanka and South Africa in the first two games of the Champions Trophy. The loss to New Zealand, however, pushed them to the second spot in Group B.
Australia, on the other hand, was far from being impressive in their 50-run win over a second string West Indian team in the opening match and were lucky to register a last-ball victory over Pakistan after their batting crumbled at the same venue on Wednesday. The win perched them on the top of Group A.
Both the sides are well versed with each other’s game and will be carefully sketching out their strategy.

The first semi-final of the Champions Trophy will see rejuvenated England taking on the favourite Australia in Centurion. England captain Andrew Strauss won the toss and elected to bat first at the SuperSport Park.

This is the eighth time the two sides are facing each other in the last six weeks. They just completed with the ODI series in England with Australia beating the host by 6-1 in the seven match series.

The Englishmen have come back strongly from last month’s alarming performance to post convincing victories over Sri Lanka and South Africa in the first two games of the Champions Trophy. The loss to New Zealand, however, pushed them to the second spot in Group B.

Australia, on the other hand, was far from being impressive in their 50-run win over a second string West Indian team in the opening match and were lucky to register a last-ball victory over Pakistan after their batting crumbled at the same venue on Wednesday. The win perched them on the top of Group A.

Both the sides are well versed with each other’s game and will be carefully sketching out their strategy.

Tags: , ,

Related posts

ICC Champions Trophy: Australia In, India Out!

October 01, 2009 By: Spunky Category: Champions Trophy 2009 No Comments →

Australia made it to the semi-finals after the last-ball victory over Pakistan in the Champions Trophy league macth thereby putting an end to India’s languid campaign.
In the must win encounter, Australia first restricted Pakistan to a modest score of 205/6 and they just managed to make it with the very last ball in a nail-biting match which saw fortune fluctuating from one team to the other till the end. And with this India has been knocked out of the Champions Trophy without even making it to the semis.
In the other match between India and West Indies, India bowled out West Indies for 129 runs in 36 overs. While India struggled to chase comfortably as they lost Gambhir and Dravid’s wickets in the beginning. It was Virat Kohli and Dinesh Karthik who managed to hold on score with their bat. Kohli was adjudged man of the match for his unbeaten 79 which included 9 fours and 2 sixes. India achieved the target in 32.1 overs.

Australia made it to the semi-finals after the last-ball victory over Pakistan in the Champions Trophy league macth thereby putting an end to India’s languid campaign.

In the must win encounter, Australia first restricted Pakistan to a modest score of 205/6 and they just managed to make it with the very last ball in a nail-biting match which saw fortune fluctuating from one team to the other till the end. And with this India has been knocked out of the Champions Trophy without even making it to the semis.

In the other match between India and West Indies, India bowled out West Indies for 129 runs in 36 overs. While India struggled to chase comfortably as they lost Gambhir and Dravid’s wickets in the beginning. It was Virat Kohli and Dinesh Karthik who managed to hold on score with their bat. Kohli was adjudged man of the match for his unbeaten 79 which included 9 fours and 2 sixes. India achieved the target in 32.1 overs.

Tags: , , ,

Related posts

ICC Champions Trophy: West Indies vs India

September 29, 2009 By: Spunky Category: Champions Trophy 2009 No Comments →

If Pakistan wins over Australia and if India wins over West Indies, the Indian team will have a chance to survive in the Champions Trophy. The next match will be a must-win for India who take on West Indies on Wednesday.
India will have to face West Indies with the hope that Pakistan would somehow beat Australia by a big margin in the day’s first match at Centurion. If this happens, India would need to increase their net run-rate dramatically, besides winning the match, to stand a chance of making the last-four stage.
India after losing their opening game by 54 runs has a net run-rate of -1.08 whereas Australia who won against West Indies by 50 runs has a massive advantage of +1.00 in their favour. So if India wants to go past Australia’s net run-rate, they have to cover the difference of 104 runs between the two teams.
For instance, if Australia lose their game by 25 runs, India needs to win theirs against the West Indies by 80 runs to prevail and go through to the semi-finals. However, if Australia bat first and score 250 runs, India need to get their runs inside 40 overs for them to go through.
These things do not promise good signs for India as these are just the probabilities for India to get into the Semi-finals.
Teams (from):
India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Harbhajan Singh, Dinesh Karthik, Virat Kohli, Praveen Kumar, Amit Mishra, Abhishek Nayar, Ashish Nehra, Yusuf Pathan, Suresh Raina, Ishant Sharma, RP Singh.
West Indies: Floyd Reifer, Darren Sammy, David Bernard, Tino Best, Royston Crandon, Travis Dowlin, Andre Fletcher, Kevin McClean, Nikita Miller, Kieran Powell, Dale Richards, Kemar Roach, Devon Smith, Gavin Tonge, Chadwick Walton, Daren Powell.

After rain played spoilsport in the Australia vs India match, the chances for India to advance to the semi-finals has been reducing. If Pakistan wins over Australia and if India wins over West Indies, the Indian team will have a chance to survive in the Champions Trophy. The next match will be a must-win for India who take on West Indies on Wednesday.

India will have to face West Indies with the hope that Pakistan would somehow beat Australia by a big margin in the day’s first match at Centurion. If this happens, India would need to increase their net run-rate dramatically, besides winning the match, to stand a chance of making the last-four stage.

India after losing their opening game by 54 runs has a net run-rate of -1.08 whereas Australia who won against West Indies by 50 runs has a massive advantage of +1.00 in their favour. So if India wants to go past Australia’s net run-rate, they have to cover the difference of 104 runs between the two teams.

For instance, if Australia lose their game by 25 runs, India needs to win theirs against the West Indies by 80 runs to prevail and go through to the semi-finals. However, if Australia bat first and score 250 runs, India need to get their runs inside 40 overs for them to go through.

These things do not promise good signs for India as these are just the probabilities for India to get into the Semi-finals.

Teams:

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Harbhajan Singh, Dinesh Karthik, Virat Kohli, Praveen Kumar, Amit Mishra, Abhishek Nayar, Ashish Nehra, Yusuf Pathan, Suresh Raina, Ishant Sharma, RP Singh.

West Indies: Floyd Reifer, Darren Sammy, David Bernard, Tino Best, Royston Crandon, Travis Dowlin, Andre Fletcher, Kevin McClean, Nikita Miller, Kieran Powell, Dale Richards, Kemar Roach, Devon Smith, Gavin Tonge, Chadwick Walton, Daren Powell.

Tags: , ,

Related posts

Jesse Ryder out of Champions Trophy

September 29, 2009 By: Track Monitor Category: Champions Trophy 2009, Cricket News 1 Comment →

Jesse Ryder suffered an injury during New Zealand’s match against Sri Lanka and has been ruled out of the tournament. He pulled his left abductor muscle while trying to take a single in the early part of his innings. Daniel Vettori expressed that they will miss Jesse Ryder ahead of their big match for making it to the Semis.

The bad day of Jesse Ryder was worsened after the ICC match Referee Javagal Srinath fined him 15% of his match fees for showing anger while walking back to dressing room after his dismissal. Jesse Ryder hit a chair with his bat in anguish after getting dismissed.

Tags: , ,

Related posts

ICC Champions Trophy: South Africa Vs England: England makes it to semi-finals

September 28, 2009 By: Spunky Category: Champions Trophy 2009, Highlights No Comments →

England beat South Africa by 22 runs in the nail biting league match of the group B at centurion.
Chasing 324, host South Africa tried their best to reach the target but ended with 301 thereby closing their semi-finals dreams.
After an exceptional innings from Owais Shah and Eoin Morgan, Smith forced England to battle every step of the way, and at 206 for 3 with 14 overs to go, a crushing reversal was not out of the question. However, James Anderson put the game safe with the nerveless figures of 3 for 42 in ten overs, and when Smith himself was ninth man out with 19 balls remaining, South Africa had to face up once more to the humiliation of exiting a global tournament on home soil at the very first hurdle.
It was a startling contest that continued the unlikeliest revival in international cricket. With one shock result already notched up against Sri Lanka, England entered this crunch contest with such confidence that not even the late withdrawal of their wicketkeeper, Matt Prior, could rattle their resolve.
The best performance of the day came from Owais shah, the Man of the match. With a slow but steady 44 in the victory over Sri Lanka, he launched himself into top gear with a brilliant 98 from 89 balls that included five fours and six sixes – five of which came in a 13-ball onslaught in those habitually stagnant middle overs.
Tit-bits:
England’s 323 for 8 is their highest ODI score against South Africa and their third-highest overseas.
England’s 12 sixes is the most they’ve struck in an innings in ODIs. Their previous-highest was against New Zealand in Napier last year.
Owais Shah was especially harsh on Albie Morkel (27 off 23) and Roelof van der Merwe (29 off 26).
Eoin Morgan took Dale Steyn for 18 in 8, Wayne Parnell for 23 in 11 and Johan Botha for 19 in 12. He had a strike-rate of over 100 against every bowler he faced.
England scored 48 runs in their batting powerplay, and 92 in the last ten overs.
Graeme Smith’s 141 is the second-highest score in a losing cause for South Africa in ODIs. Herschelle Gibbs tops the list with 143 against New Zealand in the 2003 World Cup.

England beat South Africa by 22 runs in the nail biting league match of the group B at Centurion.

Chasing 324, host South Africa tried their best to reach the target but ended with 301 thereby closing their semi-finals dreams.

After an exceptional innings from Owais Shah and Eoin Morgan, Smith forced England to battle every step of the way, and at 206 for 3 with 14 overs to go, a crushing reversal was not out of the question. However, James Anderson put the game safe with the nerveless figures of 3 for 42 in ten overs, and when Smith himself was ninth man out with 19 balls remaining, South Africa had to face up once more to the humiliation of exiting a global tournament on home soil at the very first hurdle.

It was a startling contest that continued the unlikeliest revival in international cricket. With one shock result already notched up against Sri Lanka, England entered this crunch contest with such confidence that not even the late withdrawal of their wicketkeeper, Matt Prior, could rattle their resolve.

The best performance of the day came from Owais shah, the Man of the match. With a slow but steady 44 in the victory over Sri Lanka, he launched himself into top gear with a brilliant 98 from 89 balls that included five fours and six sixes – five of which came in a 13-ball onslaught in those habitually stagnant middle overs.

Tit-bits:

  • England’s 323 for 8 is their highest ODI score against South Africa and their third-highest overseas.
  • England’s 12 sixes is the most they’ve struck in an innings in ODIs. Their previous-highest was against New Zealand in Napier last year.
  • Owais Shah was especially harsh on Albie Morkel (27 off 23) and Roelof van der Merwe (29 off 26).
  • Eoin Morgan took Dale Steyn for 18 in 8, Wayne Parnell for 23 in 11 and Johan Botha for 19 in 12. He had a strike-rate of over 100 against every bowler he faced.
  • England scored 48 runs in their batting powerplay, and 92 in the last ten overs.
  • Graeme Smith’s 141 is the second-highest score in a losing cause for South Africa in ODIs. Herschelle Gibbs tops the list with 143 against New Zealand in the 2003 World Cup.
Tags: ,

Related posts


Switch to our mobile site