India vs Pakistan ICC Champions Trophy 2009

Shoaib Malik smashed a magnificent century to give Pakistan the upperhand against India in the Group A match of the ICC Champions Trophy , in Centurion, on Saturday.

After a slow start Malik changed gears in style smashing 128, hitting a total of 16 boundaries in his 126-ball knock. His 206-run partnership in 193 deliveries with Mohammad Yousuf , who hit a composed 87 from 88 deliveries, saw Pakistan change the course of the match completely in the middle overs.

The Indian bowling failed to live upto expectations with senior most Harbhajan Singh the main culprit, giving away 71 runs in his ten overs for just one wicket. Ashish Nehra toiled hard, claiming four for 55 in his ten overs and Ishant Sharma took two for 39.

Imran Nazir survived a run out chance off the second ball of the match when Suresh Raina missed the stumps at the non-striker's end by a whisker as the right-hander attempted to steal a quick run on the off-side.

Nazir then made the Indians pay when he unleashed a cracking cover drive for his second boundary in the third over by Nehra followed by another couple boundaries off RP Singh in the fourth over to race to 20 from 16 deliveries.

Just when it looked the Pakistan openers would run havoc, India struck back when Nehra claimed the vital wicket of Nazir. The right-hander, who made 20 from 17 deliveries, attempted a pull short but top edged it and was neatly held by Harbhajan Singh at mid-on. (29-1, 4.2)

RP Singh was taken off after just two overs, during which he gave away 21 runs, including four boundaries.

But Ishant Sharma fared no better as he also conceded two boundaries in his first over. Captain Younis Khan glanced the first one through fine leg for a boundary while the second was despatched through the cover region.

Akmal smashed Nehra through midwicket for his third boundary as Pakistan raced to 51 for one after just seven overs.

Once again India struck against the run of play when Kamran Akmal inside edged Nehra onto his stumps to be bowled for 19 from 22 deliveries. (53-2, 8.5)

Akmal's wicket saw the run rate fall drastically as Pakistan cruising at 51 for one after seven overs managed only three runs in the next five overs to reach 54 for

two after 12 overs. Ishant, who went for nine runs in his first over, had played a big role in the comeback as he gave away just a single in his next three overs

including two maidens.

Meanwhile, RP Singh back for his second spell came up with the important wicket of captain Younis for 20 (33b). The left-armer bowling from round the wicket got

one to swing away from the batsman taking the edge to wicketkeeper Dhoni. (65-3, 14.4)

RP Singh made a strong comeback in his second spell giving away just four runs in three overs and claiming the wicket of Younis.

Pakistan innings looked stuck as just 20 runs came from the last ten overs with the scoreboard reading 71 for three after 17 overs. Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni

took the opportunity to introduce his part-timers in Virat Kohli and Yusuf Pathan hoping to squeeze in a few tight overs.

The Kohli experiment lasted just three overs without much success as the youngster went for 21 runs but at the other end Pathan was doing a good job with just

seven runs from his three overs.

With the part-timers in operation, Mohammad Yousuf and Shoaib Malik had no problem getting their eye in as they steadily built the Pakistan innings in the middle overs as the duo brought up their 50-run partnership in 72 deliveries in the 27th over.

Yousuf then broke the sequence of singles with a delicate late cut through third man for a boundary against Pathan and Malik repeated that dose against Harbhajan in the next over.

The two batsmen finally decided to change gears as they slammed another two boundaries in Pathan's eighth over as he conceded 20 runs in his last two overs for 41 runs in eight overs. Those couple of boundaries also brought up the 100-run partnership between the two batsmen as they threatened to cut loose with the final few overs approaching.

Yousuf completed a deserved half-century with a single in the 35th over. The best part about his knock was that he kept it simple with singles and twos and despite

hitting just three boundaries, brought up the landmark in 55 deliveries.

Malik completed his fifty in style in 81 deliveries when he slammed Ishant through point for his fifth boundary in the 36th over. He seemed to have changed gears

after his fifty as he slammed another two boundaries in the same over as Pakistan started to take charge.

Malik continued pounding the third man boundary as he thumped RP Singh for consecutive boundaries to race to 84 from 98 deliveries. Amazingly, the right-hander smashed 34 runs in his last 18 deliveries as the Indian bowlers looked totally clueless against the onslaught.

The last ten overs were a complete turnaround for Pakistan as they hit 83 runs to reach 217 for three after 40 overs.

Malik once again creamed Pathan through his favourite point region for his 12th boundary to move into the 90s. He brought up his century in 108 deliveries with another boundary when he cut Harbhajan through the third man region.

It was raining boundaries through the point and third man region as Yousuf drove RP Singh effortlessly for his fifth boundary.

Finally, Nehra gave his team some much needed relief when he claimed the important wicket of Yousuf. The veteran batsman tried to hit every ball out of the park in the PowerPlay but was beaten by the slower one and was bowled for a wonderful innings of 87 from 88 deliveries, inclusive of seven boundaries. (271-4, 46)

His 206-run partnership in just 193 deliveries for the fourth wicket with Malik had given Pakistan complete control after they were bogged down following a few wickets.

Shahid Afridi needed no time to warm-up as he started with a lofted boundary over the cover region off Pathan in the 47th over. However, he fell off the very next delivery for 4 caught behind by Dhoni attempting another lofted over the off-side.(278-5, 47)

There was no stopping Malik, who taking advantage of the fielding restriction, smashed successive boundaries off Nehra to start the 48th over.

But wickets kept falling from the other end when Umar Akmal perished caught behind by Dhoni for a first-ball duck attempting a big shot. (289-5, 47.5)

Nehra was easily India's best bowler of the day as he finished with respectable figures of four for 55 in ten overs, when all others around him were being carted all around the ground.

Malik's brilliant knock of 128 came to an end in the penultimate over when he holed out to long-on to give Harbhajan his first wicket. The Pakistan right-hander was in complete control, hitting 16 boundaries in his 126-ball knock to help his team post a huge score. Half of his runs came between the third man and point region as Malik fetched 61 runs from that area, having breached that boundary 12 times.

Harbhajan bagged a wicket off his final delivery but his figures read a miserable one for 71 in his ten overs, on a day when nothing worked for him.

Umar Gul tried a wild slog but ended up top edging to be taken by Suresh Raina at point off Ishant for a duck, while Mohammad Aamer hit a slower delivery straight to the mid-on fielder off the first delivery he faced.

Pakistan finished on a huge 302 for nine in their 50 overs leaving India with a tough task on hand in their opening encounter.

Tendulkar targets 15,000 Test runs

Sachin Tendulkar has said he is not satisfied with his achievements and hopes to accumulate 15,000 runs and win the World Cup in 2011.

"I am not pleased yet with what I have done," Tendulkar, who has scored a record 12773 Test runs at an average of 54.58 from 159 matches, said in an interview with the Wisden Cricketer. "Sunil Gavaskar has told me that I have to get to 15,000 runs. He said he would be angry with me and would come and catch me if I didn't. I admire him so much and to score that many would be a terrific achievement, but that is not the only aim." His other big cricketing ambition is to "win the World Cup in 2011".

Tendulkar, 36, also spoke about how he has been consistently playing with pain. "I always play in pain, all the time. I played with a broken finger for the last three months, but you know when pain is manageable or not, and most of the time I can do it," he said. "I can still do what I did when I was 25 but the body is changing, so your thought process has to change too. I have had to change how I think, which is about taking less risk."

Tendulkar also disagreed with John Buchanan, former Australia coach, who felt Tendulkar had become susceptible to the short ball early in his innings because of a lack of footwork. "It is only his opinion; John Buchanan doesn't have to be right all the time. If I couldn't handle short deliveries, then I wouldn't still be scoring runs," he said. "Maybe he needs to change his opinion. There must be something very wrong with all the bowlers around the world that they have allowed me to score so many runs."

Don Bradman had said Tendulkar reminded him of himself and the Indian batsman was the only modern player in Bradman's all-time XI. Does Tendulkar think the same way about anyone? "I would say Virender Sehwag comes closest to my style."

Tendulkar said he was not thinking about retirement yet but he would know when to quit cricket. "I will know when it is the right time, I won't have to be dragged away. I am the person who will make the decision and I will know whether I still belong."

He admitted life after cricket wouldn't be easy. "It's a scary thought. It has been there for my whole adult life, it will be difficult, I have been around for a long time, I can imagine when I finish I will long to face just 10 more balls but you have to move."

Sourav Ganguly received an Honorary Fellowship at the University of Central Lancashire

Sourav Ganguly received an Honorary Fellowship at the University of Central Lancashire, July 15, 2009

Kaneria puts Sri Lanka in a spin

Pakistan leg spinner Danish Kaneria took five for 62 to help bowl Sri Lanka out for 233 on an action-packed second day of the third Test on Tuesday.

Kaneria, playing his first game of the series, bowled superbly to give Pakistan a 66-run first-innings lead.

The tourists lost opener Khurram Manzoor in the final over before stumps, bowled by left-arm spinner Rangana Herath, and finished on 16 for one, a lead of 82 runs.

Fawad Alam was unbeaten on 14 and Younus Khan on nought.

Danish KaneriaFormer captain Mahela Jayawardene top-scored for the hosts with a skillful 79 from 153 deliveries including 10 boundaries.

Tillakaratne Dilshan also scored a gutsy 44 batting with a fractured right index finger and Kumar Sangakkara made a fluent 45.

Sri Lanka, 2-0 up in the series, needed just 3.4 overs in the morning to end the Pakistan innings after the visitors had resumed on 289 for seven.

Left-arm paceman Thilan Thushara grabbed two of the last three wickets to fall, claiming career-best figures of five for 83.

Thushara wrapped up the innings as Pakistan's batting collapsed for the fourth time in the series, the last six wickets tumbling for 14 runs after the second new ball was taken.

GUL STRIKES

The Pakistan bowlers led the fightback after Umar Gul bowled Malinda Warnapura with the first ball of the innings and Khan bowled opener Tharanga Paranavitana for five to reduce Sri Lanka to 23 for two.

Sri Lanka would have been in deeper trouble had Manzoor not dropped Sangakkara on 16, spilling an easy catch at gully after the skipper played Mohammad Aamer away from his body.

Sangakkara stroked seven boundaries before he was adjudged lbw to spinner Saeed Ajmal to the last ball before lunch, although TV replays showed the ball pitched outside leg stump.

Ajmal struck another big blow after the interval with a sharp off break to bowl Thilan Samaraweera for six.

Jayawardene rallied the innings with Angelo Mathews, playing skilfully against quality spin bowling from Ajmal and Kaneria.

Kaneria made the breakthrough just before tea when he induced Mathews to edge a catch to slip.

Kaneria also dismissed Jayawardene with a cleverly disguised quicker ball and he trapped Chaminda Vaas lbw.

Dilshan launched a late assault, hitting two sixes and two fours in his 44 before being last man out.

Vaughan Retires

LONDON (Reuters) - Michael Vaughan touched greatness as an opening batsman then scaled the heights as England captain before a chronic knee injury hastened his premature retirement.
Vaughan, 34, announced he had retired from all cricket on Tuesday after failing to win back his place in the national side and fulfil his dream of playing once more in an Ashes-winning side.
"It has been a hard decision," Vaughan told a news conference at Edgbaston.
"I wanted to give myself one last chance of playing against Australia but I haven't been playing well enough and my body is not reacting how I would like it to be."
Speculation that Vaughan might be recalled for one last tilt at Australia, after leading England to their memorable home victory in 2005, always seemed fanciful.
He has not played for England since resigning as captain last year and passed 50 only three times in 22 innings for Yorkshire.
He was also forced to leave the field frequently to rest his troubled knee which raised fresh doubts about his ability to get through a five-day test.
Vaughan's elegance and class were apparent from the start of his career, although he was never a heavy scorer in county cricket and did not force his way into the England side through sheer weight of runs.

WI squad unchanged for the 3 rd and 4 th ODI

Following West Indies' victory against India in the second ODI at the Sabina Park, Kingston, the West Indian selectors named an unchanged squad for the third and the fourth ODI.

The remaining two One-Day Internationals are scheduled at Beausejour, St Lucia on Friday, July 3 and Sunday, July 5.

Squad: Chris Gayle (Captain), Denesh Ramdin (Vice Captain), Lionel Baker, Darren Bravo, Dwayne Bravo, Sulieman Benn, David Bernard, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Narsingh Deonarine, Runako Morton, Ravi Rampaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Jerome Taylor.

We misread the pitch - Dhoni

India's poor batting display in their eight-wicket defeat in the second ODI in Kingston owed to a misjudgment on the part of their batsmen about the pitch, MS Dhoni has said. Dhoni played a captain's innings of 95, which rescued his team from a hopeless situation at 82 for 8, but proved woefully inadequate in the face of an attacking opening stand of 101 led by West Indies captain Chris Gayle.

"We should have paid a little more respect to the bowlers," Dhoni said after the game. "The wicket was a bit difficult, it was swinging around a bit. We didn't judge the wicket well and just went around playing our strokes which really brought our downfall."

Dhoni was involved in a 101-run stand for the ninth wicket with RP Singh, who chipped in with a valuable 23. It was the fifth instance of a ninth-wicket pair putting on a century-partnership, and it saved India's blushes after they were in danger of being bowled out for under three figures. "Once you lose too many wickets then the only thing that you are doing is catching up. RP and me had a partnership otherwise it would have been quite embarrassing," he said.

India's top and middle orders were blown away by some disciplined bowling from the West Indian seamers, led by Ravi Rampaul, who finished with a career-best 4 for 37. India were in trouble as early as the second over, when Rampaul dismissed Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma in a space of three deliveries, and West Indies retained the advantage for the remainder of the game.

India's failure at the top, Dhoni believed, was decisive in their inability to post a challenging score, as the pitch had eased out by the time West Indies began their chase. "Later on, the wicket became better for batting," he said. "When you are batting first, initially you expect the wicket to do a bit and it is the first half an hour and after that you can capitalise if you get up a good start."

While Yuvraj Singh was at the crease India were in a position to fight back hard, but Dhoni added that reliance on just one individual - Yuvraj made a century in the series opener - was not going to win them matches. "Yuvraj is the man in form, he is getting the run for us but we can't expect one individual to score in one and every game.

"You can't expect to bowl the opponent out within 180, especially on a wicket like this. We just wanted to make it difficult. As long as we can stay on the wicket and make it difficult for them to score runs, that was the motivation."

His opposing captain Chris Gayle was full of praise for the fast-bowling duo of Rampaul and Jerome Taylor, who set the stage for the series-levelling win.

"It is nice to square the series. There were some good performances from the guys," he said. "Rampaul and Taylor set the game for us and from now we will look to go strength to strength. There was moisture in the wicket and Taylor and Ravi utilised it well, and the catching was also good, so we just need to keep working on our game."

The West Indies selectors have retained the current squad for the remaining two matches. The teams get a four-day break before the third ODI at Gros Islet on Friday.