Cricket Tournaments

West Indies’ impressive performance against India would have given their fans hope to seeing their team in the final four. Alas, it turned out to be a mirage as the home team were back to their incongruous ways against the mighty Australians.

Not only did they succumb to a heavy six-wicket defeat, but also crushed their chances of make it to the semi-finals after Lanka beat India by five-wickets. West Indies’ hero in the last game, skipper Chris Gayle, could not get it right against their old rivals and his failure led to West Indies’ magnanimous collapse.

They crumbed to 105 all out, a target which was effortlessly achieved by the Aussies inside 17 overs.

The win means they go into the semi-finals against Pakistan on Friday with a clean slate, and their chances of capturing the elusive T20 crown look rather bright from hereon.

Australia did not have to do much to qualify for the semis. Even a narrow defeat would have not hindered their progress. But, as is the Aussie culture, they were keen to finish the Super Eights on a high.

Thus, David Warner blasted 25 in 12 balls with the assistance of four boundaries and a huge six over to get the Aussies off to an incredible start even while chasing a miniscule total.

Warner’s dismissal was soon followed by Shane Watson’s, who dragged one from Sulieman Benn onto his stumps. But, there wasn’t much joy for West Indies thereafter.

Brad Haddin crafted a mature 46-ball 42 to grind out the Windies. Haddin departed just prior to the target being achieved, the match eventually ended in an inauspicious manner with skipper Gayle bowling five wides.

Haddin apart, Australia captain Michael Clarke chipped in with 16 from 24 balls before being disappointingly run-out. But, David Hussey registered a calm 10 not out to see the Aussies past the finishing line.

For West Indies, it was the story of one man’s failure resulting in the collapse of the whole team. And that one man was Gayle himself, who dragged a lethal Dirk Nannes delivery onto his stumps.

The rest followed suit as if they were just there to fill in the places. Praise though needs to be reserved for Australia’s potent bowling attack too who never allowed the Windies batsmen to settle.

The home team faltered to 60 for 5 at the halfway stage of their innings and needed something special from Kieron Pollard to post a decent target. That wasn’t to be though.

After Mitchell Johnson did the early damage, removing Shivnarine Chanderpaul for 24, leg spinner Steven Smith took over and crushed West Indies’ chances even further.

He sent back Pollard and Darren Sammy off successive deliveries. And, though he failed to get the hat-trick, his three-wicket effort was enough put Australia on the victory path. For the batting side only Ramnaresh Sarwan put up a fight, collecting 26 from 32 balls.

Unfortunately, there was no support at all from the other end. A 20-run stand between Nikita Miller and Benn enabled West Indies to cross 100. But, by then, irreparable damage had already been done and Australia merely finished off the formalities with the bat.

What Dale Steyn’s vicious spell couldn’t do for Bangalore Royal Challengers, Ravichandran Aswhin’s super effort did for Chennai Super Kings against the Kolkata Knight Riders in a do or die encounter for both sides at Chepauk. While Deccan Chargers managed to recover from Steyn’s three-wicket burst, Kolkata were not as lucky as they were tamed by Chennai’s lions by a thumping 9-wicket margin.

Ashwin, who opening the bowling after Sourav Ganguly won the toss and elected to bat, sent back Chris Gayle, Brendon McCullum and David Hussey in no time to have Kolkata reeling at 19 for 4 at the completion of the fourth over. Thanks to some lusty hitting by Angelo Mathews (48) and good support from Manoj Tiwary (27), the visitors recovered somewhat to post 139 for 8.

But, Kolkata’s hopes of making a match out of it evaporated rather quickly as Suresh Raina (78 from 39 balls) went on an all-out attack after the early dismissal of Matthew Hayden. With Murali Vijay (50 off 40 balls) giving him company, the Super Kings never looked in even an inch of trouble.

Looking back, the game was decided within the first 20 minutes itself. Things weren’t all that bad for Kolkata when Gayle spanked Ashwin for a mammoth six. However, the very next ball, the off-spinner had his revenge when the tall West Indian was stumped for 7 going for a repeat of the stroke.

McCullum followed almost immediately, a mistimed sweep ending up in the safe hands of Muttiah Muralitharan. David Hussey did not last long either. He was brilliantly stumped down the leg side by MS Dhoni. Ashwin was now on a hat-trick, and should have had it, but for a rare blip by Simon Taufel, who could not spot the ball taking Angelo Mathews’ gloves on its way to the fielder. Still, Ashwin finished with memorable figures of 3 for 16. At the other end, Doug Bollinger beat Ganguly for pace and trapped him lbw for 10.

Everything was looking downhill for Kolkata. But, Mathews made use of the luck that came his way and helped his side gain some amount of control on the innings. He was particularly severe on his countrymate Murali, who was being recalled into the side. With two massive sixes off him, he made a run-a-ball 48 before Murali had his revenge. Following his departure, Laxmi Ratan Shukla blasted two sixes off Raina’s bowling to help his side post a target of 140 for the Super Kings.

The only way Kolkata could have won would have been if somebody did an Ashwin. But, while Gayle promised a little by cleaning up Hayden, whose slog sweep found the stumps, what followed was nothing short of disheartening for the bowling side. Raina began by caressing Ashok Dinda for three boundaries in his opening over.

And, when Gayle returned for this second over, he was hammered all over the place. As a result, Chennai reached their best score at the end of the powerplay overs during this edition, 67 for 1. All this while, Vijay, himself in belligerent form, was prepared to be silent spectator.

Raina cut, drove and lofted with ease and even when he mistimed his pulls, he made sure that the ball headed in the safest direction, over his keeper. Vijay joined in the act towards the end as Chennai cruised to victory and kept their semi-final hopes alive.

There are lessons to be learnt in every defeat. But, the Kolkata Knight Riders don’t seem to believe in this mantra. In what was yet another inexplicably slow batting performance at the Brabourne Stadium, the Knight Riders managed to put up a mere 155 runs on the board against Mumbai Indians.

This, despite having lost just a solitary wicket at the start of the final over. The Knight Riders had a lot going for them. They won the toss and elected to bat. More importantly, Chris Gayle was available to open the innings with Sourav Ganguly. And while the duo did well to add 70, the problem was that it took 11 overs, too slow for the 20-over format.

Worse still, Ganguly was dismissed after having consumed 34 deliveries for his 31 and though Owais Shah and Gayle managed to strike some hefty blows towards the end, it was a case of too little too late.

No praise can be too high for the Mumbai bowlers though. They plotted Kolkata’s downfall methodically. It all began with the maverick Lasith Malinga bowling a succession of slower off cutters to Gayle, who was completely taken by surprise. The only answer he had was to present a straight bat or let the ball through to the keeper safely.

The smart strategy meant the Kolkata innings never gained momentum. Though Ganguly began well with a couple of well-timed fours in the opening over, he too was tied down by some tight bowling. Harbhajan Singh was especially impressive. Following the batsmen with most of his deliveries, he never gave either Gayle or Ganguly any chance to free their arms. A frustrated Ganguly finally fell to the guile of the off-spinner, going for an ugly slog to midwicket.

If Kolkata did manage to cross 150, it was due to the late assault by Gayle and Shah. They picked up important boundaries off Ryan McLaren and Dwayne Bravo. But, Zaheer Khan got them both in final over to reduce the damage done during the death. Gayle ended up with 75 off 60 deliveries. And, though it looked great in the overall analysis, the fact of the matter was that he should have opened up a lot earlier. The lethargic attitude of the Kolkata openers easily cost them 30-40 runs, which proved fatal in the final analysis.

For Kolkata to put up a fight in their defence, leave alone winning, they needed Shane Bond to deliver the early strikes. On the contrary, he was wayward and ended up conceding three boundaries in the opening over and thus set the tone for the remainder of the match. Sachin Tendulkar (71*) batted in the manner he knows best, driving and cutting with ease.

It did help that Ishant Sharma offered him a number of freebies either on a length or short of it. Once again, it was Murali Kartik who managed to slow down the flow of runs with his accurate left-arm spin. He even broke the dangerous opening partnership, beating Shikhar Dhawan in the flight. But, but that time, Mumbai had swiftly progressed to 61 in under seven overs.

Sachin continued to dazzle even as Ishant managed to pick up a couple of consolation wickets towards the end. But, it was yet another below par effort by Kolkata. They were thoroughly outplayed, tactically more than anything else.

India won the ODI series against West Indies by 2-1

In India won the 4 ODI cricket series in Caribbean against Indies by 2-1 after the final match was expelled due to rain. Caribbean win came after seven years making it historical win over Indies on their own land.

On 5th July Sunday, at Beausejour stadium both team were ready for the final assault. It was do or die situation for Indies as India was leading the series by 2-1. India was also prepared to sway the finals to overpower World T20 Cup catastrophe. But again the Caribbean monsoon played the spoil sport and match has to be dismissed due to heavy downpour. Initially match was delayed before the start and match was reduced to 49 overs per side match.

India won the toss and put the Indies to bat first. Dhoni took the sensible decision to utilize the moisture for taking wickets in the initial overs. Ishant Sharma gave an initial jolt to the Indies by taking the ducked wicket of skipper Chris Gayle. Ramnaresh Sarwan (12) and Runako Morton (12) continued till 7.4 overs at 27 runs off 1 wicket when play was suspended indefinitely by heavy downpour.

Later rainfall stopped but the ground was too wet to continue the game. Umpires decided to wait but soon after two hours they evaluated and declared the outfield unfit and too wet for the game. Consequently India won the series by 2-1 after 7 years and the 5th ODI series win consecutively. Afterwards match ceremony preceded and Indian captain M.S. Dhoni raised the cup.

India back fired in the Caribbean series after it was forced out of the World T20 Championship. Indian fans which were furious because of the early exit of the World T20 now have something to cheer about.

In the first ODI at Kingston India showcased its dexterity in the game but the Indies were also able to came closer to the 340 run target but succumbed just by 20runs. Yuvraj Singh knocked stunning ton proving himself to be match winner for India. The second ODI came as the realization as India was still weaker and some kind of restlessness taking over them when they lost by eight wickets to Indies. Dhoni performed well in the second ODI but of no consequence, his rest of the teammates were not able to support him. In the third ODI Dhoni and his teammates were prepared to back fire and they did. Dhoni again blasted with bat and chased with the stronger hold of nerve, eventually leading for six wickets victory.

India is having lot of player injuries and whole team is retarded due to constant playing. Now soon in September cricket fans going to have ICC Champions Trophy in South Africa. ICC Champions Trophy takes place after every two years, often been won by different side on every occasion. India has bet to make for it but before that they need relaxation. On the other hand Indies need to do homework regarding team planning.

At St Lucia on 3rd July, constant interruptions came as a bane for the Indies and boon for India. In the 3rd ODI of Degicel series India won the rain reduced match according to Duckworth-Lewis method against West Indies leading the series by 2-1. Dhoni holding the nerve firm knocked unbeaten 46 runs guiding India to the victory.

West Indies came to bat first, it was much to their ill fate the constant rain interruptions often lead to discontinuation and regular reduction of overs and runs. Decision was taken by India to put the Indies to bat; decision came as determining factor of the match result and as India anticipated Indies innings were adversely affected by rain.

With the rain interruption of more the 2 hours the game was reduced to 41 overs. Indies powerful opener Chris Gayle came to bat and with his fastidious spree of runs knocked 27 runs off 14 balls which was Indies score also. But as Gayle faced 13 ball rain again interrupted and match has to be put at stop. After a while reducing the overs further to 39 overs, Gayle returned to the pitch, just  on the 14th ball he succumbed to Ashish Nehra(5-21-3wk) delivery being caught behind.

During the Indies innings match was twice again has to be suspended for a while reducing it further to 36 overs then eventual to 27 overs. Despite constant rain intervention Ramnaresh Sarwan on the second wicket blasted 63 runs off 59 balls with 5 boundaries and 1 maximum. Rest onwards Runak Morton (22), Shiv Chanderpaul (15), Dwayne Bravo (19), Darren Bravo (15), Jerome Talyor (2) and not out Denesh Ramdin (14) contributed to the scoreboard aggregating to 186 runs off 27 overs.

Ashish Nehra bowling was the most impressive he was able to beat important batsmen (Gayle, Chanderpaul, Bravo)of Indies. Harbhajan Singh swept away 2 wickets with spin damaging more to Indies; Yusuf Pathan took 1 wicket and rest the Indian bowlers performance was average.

India came to bat to pursue 186 runs target off 27 overs. India score found solid base with the ferocious knocks by Dinesh Karthink (47 runs off 43 balls) and Gautam Gambhir (44 runs off 38 balls) in the top order. Due to fifth rain intervention for indefinite period in the 14th over made it more easier for the India to chase.  After the resumption runs were reduced to 159 runs according to Duckworth-Lewis method and runs left were 64 runs off 51 balls still having 9 wickets in hand it came as a clear advantage to India. Yuvraj Singh (2) and Rohit Sharma (11) were inexpensive even though Indian innings were smooth because of Dhoni’s firm hold of his nerve and aggression leaded India to victory.

West Indies bowlers were not able to put the impressive show as in last match. Bravo, Bernard and Benn took 1-1 wickets.

In the penultimate over when victory seemed far for India, Dhoni ravaged in the last over leading the India in series with 2-1.

West Indies evened the four ODI series against India in 2nd ODI of the series at Sabina Park on Sunday, 28th June. Re-called Rampaul rampage the pitch and ruined the India to the push it off the verge to chaos. Indian batsmen were nothing better than mannequins, silently observing Indian team to eventual defeat. West Indies were superior both with bat and ball and gave not a single chance to India for the comeback. West Indies restricted India to 188 runs off all out in the 48th over. Gayle and Gayle’s company again brilliantly finished the follow up in the 35th over consequently winning by 8 wickets.

Everyone expected India to be tough competition after their mouth shutting win over Indies in 1st ODI but contrary to all the expectations India came out loser. Dhoni’s guys were even worst comparative to gully cricket players. Top order batsmen were playing sneaky shoots and it was apparent with their batting they don’t possess any knowledge about the technicalities of batting and foot work. Trio Rampaul, Taylor and Bravo most often deceived the batsmen by forcing him to take silly shoots to the slip and gully and often succumbing to in swing Yorkers. Indies trio took the toll over the Indian batsmen; Karthik (4), Ravindra Jadeja (7), Harbhajan (7), including three ducks Gambhir, Rohit and Yusuf. Dhoni’s 95 runs innings was well received which dragged out India out of the mayhem when India was crumbling at 82 runs at the fall of 8 wickets.  Partnership of Dhoni and RP Singh stabilized Indian innings while in the middle order Yuraj singh (35) was the sole contributor of double figures. India aggregated only 188 runs of all out in the 48th over; 189 runs target was easily achievable for the team like West Indies.

Indies bowlers were outstanding and Indies Trio (Rampaul, Taylor and Bravo) flabbergasted Indian batsmen. Indies trio were acquainted of the Indian team vulnerability to shot pitched bowls and often they succumbed to it.  Indies trio caught the weakest point of the slip area of Indian batsmen and also found them to be inept in foot work thus Indies trio consumed this weakness of Indian batsmen. Return of Rampual came as the rejuvenating spirit to the Indies bowlers that enhanced their support and skills.  Inexpensive Indies trio Rampaul took 4 wickets and Taylor and Bravo took 3-3 wickets.

Indies got the 189 runs target which was too easy for the Gayle’s company and they achieved it without any hindrance. Gayle charged with 64 runs coming off 46 bowls hence giving the West Indies innings head start. In the 15th over Gayle got out then Sarwan (15) but the damage was done and nothing but the formality was left for Indies to end the match. Not out Runako Morton knocked 85 runs off 105 bowls and not out Chanderpaul knocked 18 runs off 41 bowls finishing the match in the 35th over leading Indies to 8 wickets win.

Now, Indians fans have something to smile and cheer about after India’s disastrous consecutive defeats in ICC T20 World Super 8. 26, June at Sabina Park in 50 overs ODI, India defeated Indies in most exciting and close match. Yuvraj with 131 innings coming off 102 balls outstandingly batted and became significant factor to India for anticipated victory. India batting line up after a long time supported each other well enough and they aggregated gigantic score of 339 runs off 6 wickets. 340 runs target was huge nevertheless as speculated Indies fired back with bat but that fire came late and they were not able to hold wickets. Consequently they all got out and succumbed to achieve the target by just 20 runs still 11 bowls spared.

Indian batting lineup has always been most powerful; each Indian batsman has on and off made bowlers sweat and frown over their own ability. On 26 June, at Jamaica again we saw Indian batsmen joshing and bashing Indies bowlers. Gautam Gambhir (13), Rohit Sharma (4) and Ravindra Jadeja (0) left the ground scoring inexpensively. Beside that Dinesh Karthik (67), Yuvraj Singh (131), MS Dhoni (41), not out Yusuf Pathan (40) and not out Harbhajan Singh (21) rampaged the pitch and not a single corner left where ball didn’t transgressed the boundary. Indian batsmen were unstoppable and Indies bowlers each trick seemed nothing but desperate plea. Yuvraj was everywhere in the scream of crowd and commentators, simply marvelous innings we saw coming from Yuvraj charismatic batting leading India to mammoth score of 339 runs off 6 wickets in 50 overs.

West Indies bowling was at its worst, each player economy reaching above 6 runs per over. Jerome Taylor, Lionel Baker and David Bernard took 1-1 wicket and Dwayne Bravo took 2 wickets. West Indies Bowlers gave batsmen ample space take shoots and every trick of in swing or off-spin was worthless in front of Yuvraj and Dinesh.

Indies got huge pressuring 340 runs target, yet it was difficult to achieve but it was never impossible for Indies. Indies got good start by Chris Gayle (37) and Runako Morton (42) and middle order played above average; Sarwan (45) and Chanderpaul (63) snatched the chance for Indies but the wickets kept falling not single batsmen after them sustained on pitch to lead Indies. Eventually when victory seemed near they all got out at 319 in 48th over by Indian bowlers.

Return of Nehra in team gave the boost to the Indian bowling. Indian bowlers fared well, RP Singh, Ishant and Harbhajan took 1-1 wickets; and Ashish Nehra and Yusuf Pathan took 3-3 wickets. Though bowlers were not able to confine Indies batsmen but still Nehra, Pathan and other bowlers didn’t let batmen sustain on pitch.

Match concluded with the close win of India and man of the match to Yuvraj Singh. Contrarily Yuvraj poked sting like a bee, as Gayle predicted for Indies.

The Sri Lankan team has exhibited great form throughout the Men’s T20 World Cup tournament and has remained unbeaten thus far. However, after what happened to South Africa yesterday nothing can be ruled out from this spicy encounter, which pits the Lankan lions against the Windies warriors. In the group stages both the teams have already faced each other and can clearly imagine what is in store for them when they meet again in this crucial semifinal encounter. Sri Lanka got the better of the West Indies team in the group stages, which will give them that crucial edge in this match. However, the Windies have never looked back from that defeat as they got the better of India and England to reach the semifinals.

The West Indies started the tournament by notching a great win over the Aussies to put a nail in their coffin before they were stopped by the Lankan lions, who notched up a convincing victory against them. The South African team added insult to injury as they comfortably beat West Indies in a Super 8 game to leave them in a spot of bother. Since then this Windies team has shown strength and character with the help of their players like Bravo, Gayle, Simmons, Taylor, Sarwan, and Chanderpaul to get the better of India and England while making it to the semifinals. West Indies are no longer a one-man show of Chris Gayle, they are now a solid unit of players who can put in performance and win against any opposition they face. Things have changed a lot since they met the Lankan lions in the group stages.

However, Sri Lanka is not bothered by the sudden return of form of the West Indian players. The Lankan players are in the best form of their life and hungry for success. Since their 1996 World Cup win the Sri Lankans have not achieved much success in International cricket. Perhaps the time is once again in their favor to achieve glory for the second time. Sri Lankan players like Dilshan, Jayawardena, Sangakara, and Jayasuriya are in prime batting form whereas the 4 M combination of Mendis, Murali, Matthews, and Malinga form a very potent bowling attack that can rip open any batting line up and tear it to shreds. The Sri Lankans have the necessary armory in place to blow up any opposition they face.

The result will only be known after the match ends but it will surely be an encounter that will keep worldwide cricket audiences glued to their TV sets. Certain factors like Gayle factor, Bravo factor, the unknown Sarwan and Chanderpaul factor, and short ball factor will keep the Sri Lankan’s on their toes. If any of these factors click then West Indies will run away with the match. However, if these factors fail miserably then do not expect any mercy from the Lankan lions because they know what is best for them and they know how to win.