Cricket Tournaments

The result surprised many, but none can deny that England deserved to emerge triumphant. This year’s tournament has emphasized that, like in the other two versions of cricket, consistency has a major part to play. True, luck is a big factor as well in T20 – how else can one explain Pakistan making it to the semis on the basis of one decent performance in the Super Eights?

However, the bottom line was that the two most consistent sides made it into the grand finals, and the team which was better on the day eventually won, and rather handsomely at that.

As everyone is aware by now, this was England’s maiden triumph in an ICC final. Prior to this, they made it to three 50-over World Cup finals and the 2004 ICC Champions Trophy summit clash, where they eventually went down to West Indies. This time, however, they were determined to set the record straight, and went about their task in a highly impressive professional manner.

For England to clinch the World Cup, a hell of a lot had to go right. After all, they were nowhere near in contention for the title compared to favourites Australia, India and, to an extent, Sri Lanka. Also, apart from Kevin Pietersen, they did not have a star name, who could be termed as a potential match-winner, at least at the start of the tournament. But, it all turned around for England, and how.

Among the major contributors to the win was undoubtedly the man himself, and now daddy, Pietersen. It was his aggression at the start of the series that set things off on a positive note, and the Englishmen never looked back from there. Often in the past, Pietersen has been guilty of getting only half the job done, and at most other side, has run out of support.

However, during the course of the last two weeks, both of these follies were rectified. If it was Craig Kieswetter who took most of the pressure off Pietersen in the finals, earlier in the tournament, the likes of Michael Lumb, Eoin Morgan and the rest also came good.

This was the difference between England and some of the other teams. Sri Lanka had Mahela Jayawardene, India had Suresh Raina and Pakistan had Salman Butt, who were among the top-run getters in the series, yet their teams could not make it all th way.

In contrast, the strong back up he received allowed Pietersen to play freely, which is when he is at his best, and most dangerous. Still, one cannot to take anything away from the tall lad, who batted that number three for England during this World Cup, as he was at his mature best.

It wasn’t enough just for the batsmen to click though. The bowlers also needed to chip in. They did a lot more than that. Most importantly, they were positive as opposed to some other sides. Ryan Sidebottom was lethal at the start with his accurate swingers and deadly at the end overs, with his nagging yorkers, a combination that strangled most batsmen.

Everyone from Stuart Broad, Tim Bresnan to Michael Yardy made a noteworthy contribution. But the performance that stood out was that of off-spinner Graeme Swann’s. As seen in the IPL, the tweakers have a significant role to play in the T20 format. And Swann’s showing in this World Cup adds further credence to the theory.

Instead of looking to contain the runs, (hope Harbhajan Singh was watching) Swann was prepared to toss the ball and invite what could have been a lot of trouble in the form of runs. Instead, the confidence-personified Swann defeated most batsmen, in the air as well as in the mind.

As the result, the runs were also kept down to a premium. Swann’s striking efforts only reiterates that, irrespective of the form of the game, attack in the best form of defence.

His performance with the bat notwithstanding, skipper Paul Collingwood also enacted his role as a leader of the side as per the demands of the script. He was inspirational in the field, pulling off some spectacular catches at key moments, and rarely let the heads drop in the field.

Never in the recent past has an English side so effervescent on a cricket field, and it wouldn’t be unfair to grant an acknowledgement to the captain of the ship for making it happen.

It is too early to predict whether this win will open a fresh chapter in English cricket. But, for the moment at least, they have proved to one and all, who are the kings of T20.

The in-form Kevin Pietersen celebrated the birth of his first child in great style. He lead England into the finals of the T20 World Cup with a typically aggressive 42 not out, as his side chased down a modest target of 129 set by Sri Lanka, who batted first after Kumar Sangakkara called correctly in the first semi-final.

It was disappointing overall batting effort from the Lankans, but for a fighting 58 from Angelo Mathews. However, against a rampant England batting order it was far from enough. Craig Kieswetter and Michael Lumb got their team off to a whirlwind start, blast 68 for the opening wicket in eight overs. Pietersen then carried forward the momentum and finished the game off in a hurry with his 26-ball knock.

Before Pietersen’s bravado though it were the bowlers who set up with the win for the Englishmen with a controlled yet penetrative effort. The seamers as well the pacers were equally impressive and never ever allowed the Lankans to get away.

Things began disastrously as Ryan Sidebottom forced the totally out of sorts Sanath Jayasuriya to nick a well-pitched outswinger to a gleeful Paul Collingwood in the slips. A restless Tillakaratne Dilshan, also out of form, tehn perished trying to hit out against Tim Bresnan, but only managing to loop the ball high up in the air.

Lanka had hardly snailed past 20 when their big hope Mahela Jayawardene was undone by Stuart Broad, beaten for pace and caught behind the wickets.

Kumar Sangakkara had already arrived at the crease, but the pressure was immense even for the level-headed Lankan captain. His side was down in the dumps at 38 for the loss of their top three batsmen at the end of the Powerplay overs.

With the introduction of spin, Sangakkara saw an opening to relieve the pressure. However, very soon England were celebrating once again as Sangakkara, in an effort to loft Graeme Swann, ended up gifting a dolly at mid-off, which was accepted by Pietersen.

Amidst the carnage, only Mathews kept a still head and guided Lanka to a score in the region of respectability. Known for his big shots, he was prepared to rotate the strike and, only occasionally hit out, emphasizing his maturity as a cricketer. Even when he played the lofted shot, he ensured it was with a straight bat, like the six he took off Swann’s bowling.

If Lanka thought they had a slight opening to get away, England ensured the reverse happened. Their pacers resorted to the use of the slow bouncer smartly, and everyone, including Mathews, struggled. And, soon the wickets started falling again. Broad ended Chamara Kapugedera’s frustration out in the middle by getting him to mistime one.

A 17-run over by Bresnan, including three wides, helped Lanka cross 120, and also gave them some momentum going into the break. However, it wasn’t to last for long.

After a couple of quiet overs delivered by the spinning combo of Dilshan and Ajantha Mendis, England’s openers went on the attack. Kieswetter did not allow Suraj Randiv to settle, slogging him for successive boundaries in an over, and later slammed Mathews for a maximum on the off side.

His partner Michael Lumb, meanwhile, was lucky to get off to a start. He should have been back in the pavilion early on when following a mix-up, which left him stranded midway down the pitch, but a nervy Mendis couldn’t gather a simple throw.

Soon, he was dropped by a diving Nuwan Kulasekera at mid-off and even the normally brilliant Jayawardene sent a wayward throw when a simple, well-directed one would have had the batsmen well short of the ground.

Lanka did manage to dismiss both, but by then the game was out of their grasps. Both the openers had made merry and blasted Jayasuriya for a six each befor Lasith Malinga’s deadly yorker knocked over Kieswetter.

Lumb threw his wicket away for 33, moving across the stumps and trying to hit Thissara Perera against the line. Collingwood perished in a hurry to finish things, but daddy Pietersen made sure England cruised to their first ICC final in six years.

England batsman Craig Kieswetter’s slammed his maiden ODI hundred as the Englishmen trounced Bangladesh by 45-runs in the third ODI at Chittagong. In the process, the visitors also completed a convincing 3-0 whitewash in the series. Kieswetter, who had struggled earlier on in the series, scored a highly impressive 107, which was chiefly responsible for England ending up with a formidable 284 for 5, batting first on a slowish wicket.

Kieswetter’s ton was well supported by quickfire cameos from Eoin Morgan and Luke Wright. In reply, Bangladesh were never in the hunt, ending up with a disappointing 239 for 9. Only Mushfiqur Rahim and Aftab Ahmed, who scored 40 and 46 respectively, put up some resistance.

Kieswetter began his match-winning knock in a rather sedate manner, looking determined to make up for his earlier failures. He just stood at the wicket during the initial phase and allowed skipper Alastair Cook to do most of the scoring. Cook reached 32 with the help of three boundaries and was looking set for a big knock when he departed, getting caught behind the wickets off the ever-impressive Shakib Al Hasan.

Following the captain’s dismissal, Kieswetter continued to struggle for a while, but did not throw his wicket away and over time began finding his feet.

Mind you, this wasn’t an easy wicket to bat on. Even the aggressive Kevin Pietersen struggled, especially against the spinners. Like Cook, he also got a start, but was trapped in front by Abdur Razzak when on 22. The story was no different for the tenacious Paul Collingwood. As expected though, he hung around with Kieswetter and helped him build a resurrecting partnership.

Even though he departed for 36, which included a solitary boundary, his presence seemed to have been the tonic that was needed to boost Kieswetter’s confidence. The opener reached a hard-earned fifty and from thereon he was a different man altogether. Runs flowed from his bat as he cut and drove his way swiftly towards his maiden ton.

Kieswetter eventually fell for a superbly-constructed 107, when an attempted cut off Razzak found his stumps disturbed. But, not before he and Morgan added a blitzkrieg 67 in the slog overs. Morgan gathered a lucky 36 from 29 balls, an innings during which he was dropped on more than one occasion.

And when was finally dismissed, Wright continued the destruction job. If anything, he was even more deadly, powering his way to 32 in mere 13 deliveries.

If Bangladesh hoped to chase down the total, they needed a solid start. However, that wasn’t to be. The home team lost the talented Tamim Iqbal in the very first over. Debutant Ajmal Shahzad had him caught by Tim Bresnan in the third man region. Imrul Kayes got a start and threw it away.

The only piece de résistance of the Bangladesh innings came in the form of a partnership between Mushfiqur Rahim and Aftab Ahmed. The duo looked comfortable out in the middle during their 56-run partnership. Unfortunately, just as the innings seemed to be coming on track, Ahmed was run-out for 46 in a frivolous manner and Bangladesh never recovered.

Tim Bresnan took full advantage of the hapless Bangladeshi batsmen, ending with a career-best haul of 4 for 28 as the match headed towards a dull, predictable finish.