Cricket Tournaments

It was a game that was Pakistan’s for the taking. But, four crazy overs of slog over bowling and some childish fielding from the unpredictable Asians turned things around 360 degree. Ross Taylor, who was dropped twice at the start of his innings, one being a simple, straightforward chance to wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal and one going between the keeper and slips, went on to play the innings of the lifetime. Until the last five overs of the innings, Pakistan were in control, courtesy Umar Gul whose tight bowling and wicket-taking kept New Zealand’s score under check.

Unfortunately for Pakistan, it was actually the silence before the storm. Shoaib Akhtar bowled a plethora of full tosses and was treated by the well-set Taylor with the least of respect. All those deliveries found their way over the ropes as Akhtar could do nothing but watch in embarrassing amazement. Taylor threw his bat at everything and was rewarded suitably as he also brought up his birthday century. There was more come in the innings of the lifetime as Taylor dished out similar treatment to Abdul Razzaq. Like Akhtar, Razzaq was also guilty of bowling a number of full tosses. And not surprisingly, those deliveries were dispatched easily over the ropes. And even when the bowler managed to land the ball on the pitch, the ball was creamed to the fence along the ground. The bowlers had absolutely no answer to the Taylor assault. Inspired by Taylor, Nathan McCullum and Jacob Oram also played wonderful cameos as Pakistan bowlers succumbed to the pressure.

Taylor’s was the kind of innings New Zealand needed to lift themselves up following some disappointing efforts in recent times. Taylor hadn’t been the greatest form going into the tournament. In fact, he had been struggling for quite a while. Also, his record on the sub continent had been below par prior to this tournament. In spite of all this, Kiwi skipper Daniel Vettori had backed Taylor to come good sooner rather than later in the tournament. And that’s exactly what happened. Taylor went from strength to strength as the innings progressed and hurt Pakistan badly for their misdemeanours with both the ball and in the field.

Once Taylor and co had blasted Pakistan in the manner they did, there seemed to be no way back for the Pakistanis. So shell-shocked were they that in time the Pakistanis had lost six wickets and the game was all but over. It was only a blazing counter attack by Abdul Razzaq that the Asian giants something to cheer about. He got some good support from Umar Gul towards the end. But, that was only a case of too little too late.

Apart from Taylor, Martin Guptill’s half-century will also give assurance to New Zealand at the top of the order. He has been in good form of late and the Kiwis will want him to continue that in the coming matches as well. What they need now is for Brendon McCullum to find his groove. He did perform well in the previous game against Zimbabwe. However, New Zealand will need McCullum to be more consistent in the coming games. Among the other worries, the injury to skipper Vettori will be a bit of a worry to them.

From Pakistan’s point of view, they will need to get their bowling act at the death right. Also, their fielding needs to go up by a few notches. And, of course, their batting under pressure needs to improve. They have been caught napping on more than a couple of occasions now and were bailed out by Shahid Afridi. The business end of the tournament is just about to begin and Pakistan need to put the past victories behind them and look ahead to the bigger battles that are ahead.

Following Ireland’s massive upset of England, a lot was expected of the South Africa vs Netherlands tie. Sadly, for cricket fans it turned out to be a completely one-sided affair. The only time Netherlands managed to compete in the game was when Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis fell in quick succession. However, what followed was a wonderfully sensible partnership between two of the best batsmen in modern day cricket – Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers. After getting themselves in following the loss of two quick wickets, both stuck to their natural game and managed to put the Proteas in an extremely healthy position.

The feature of the partnership between Amla and de Villiers was that neither looked in any sort of trouble as the duo set about rebuilding the innings. The boundaries came at will, with de Villiers expectedly playing the aggressor. That said, Amla also rotated the strike well, ensuring de Villiers got enough balls to face. The duo wasn’t separated until the 45^th over. And even after Amla’s and de Villiers’ dismissal, there was no respite for the Dutchmen. Jean-Paul Duminy came in and blasted a cameo which propelled the South Africans to a highly daunting total considering the bowling attack at their disposal. Duminy slammed as many as four sixes in his 18-ball stay at the crease. Netherlands’ limitations and inexperience with the clearly ball in hand clearly stood exposed.

During the chase, the Netherlands batsmen must surely have taken some heart from the fact that Ireland had managed to chase down England’s mammoth target the previous day. But, this was going to be a doubly difficult task considering that the Proteas attack is much more penetrative and lethal. And that’s exactly what stood out as the major difference between the two sides. Apart from Wesley Barresi, none of the Dutch batsmen could stand up to the South African attack. A lot of hopes rested on Ryan ten Doeschate if Netherlands had to put up a fight. But, he was done in by Dale Steyn and no one among the rest were good enough on the day. Netherlands’ weakness against spin was also evident from the fact that more than half the side succumbed to the tweakers. Imran Tahir and Robin Peterson shared the major spoils even as Duminy chipped in with the ball as well. It was a majorly disappointing effort from the Dutch. But, to be fair, South Africa were a far superior side and there wasn’t a good enough arsenal in Netherlands’ kitty to stop the carnage.

Even as Netherlands and South Africa played a one-sided tune, things were much more intriguing in the other contest of the day. Like the abovementioned match, Pakistan vs Canada was also expected to be a one-sided affair. But with Pakistan, always be ready for a surprise or two. Their batting crumbled in the face of some disciplined but far from threatening bowling. And if not for Shahid Afridi’s deadly spell, his third in three consecutive games, we might well have had another upset post the Ireland-England humdinger.

It was an atrocious batting display from Pakistan and a definite wake up call for them going into the bigger contests. None of their batsmen could register a half-century, with only Umar Akmal getting close. But even he and the in-form Misbah-ul-Haq, the next highest scorer for Pakistan, threw their wickets away as the mercurial side capitulated inexplicably. To their credit, the Canada bowlers stuck to their guns. Harvir Baidwan was the most impressive and also the most successful. But, the others also gave him ample support. Rizwan Cheema, Balaji Rao and Jimmy Hansra all troubled the Pakistan batsmen, who were adamant on committing hara-kiri, and were suitably rewarded. Having bowled out the dangerous Pakistan for a score on under 200 would have given Canada mighty confidence to chase down the target. And they tried the level best to do it. Unfortunately for them, Afridi completed a hat-trick of sorts, standing in the way of a Pakistan defeat for the third game in a row.

While the Pakistan skipper’s batting has gone down by miles, his bowling has risen in an equally steady manner. And he is using it to lethal effect in this World Cup. Nothing changed in the game against Canada. Unlike the earlier matches, Afridi was assisted by the opening bowlers in this game. Not only did Abdul Razzaq and Umar Gul strike early, they also maintained an extremely tight leash on the batsmen during their spell. Even so, with such a meagre total to defend, all the batting side needed was one decent partnership to see their team through. The run-rate wasn’t a concern too, so Canada had everything going for them. And when Zubin Surkari and Hansra joined forced in a sensible partnership, hopes of another upset in the tournament were raised immensely. That was until Afridi took over and turned the game on its head.

After Saeed Ajmal broke the dangerous partnership getting rid of Surkari, Afridi rolled over the rest with his fastish leg-breaks, to which the inexperienced Canadians had just no answer to offer. Three of his five victims were bowled, a clear indication that they were beaten for pace and, from a seemingly safe position, Canada plunged to what at the start of the match was an expected defeat. Despite the loss, Canada can take heart from the fact that they managed to run their much more fancied opponents so close.

In the end, no surprises were reserved for Thursday. But while the South Africans would be buoyed by their thoroughly professional effort, Pakistan have a lot of work to do to ensure that they do not have to depend on Afridi’s bowling in every game to bail them out. After all, even the Pakistan skipper is bound to have a bad day with the ball, and if the rest do not rise to the occasion, it can put Pakistan in serious trouble in the matches ahead.

Shahid Afridi claimed 4 for 34 against SL

It was the re-laid pitch at Premedasa Stadium in Colombo with cracks suggesting the pitch will go slower and lower in the second innings. The highest successful chase was 271/2 by India way back in the last decade. Pakistan won the important toss and elected to pile a total for the Sri Lankans to chase. Captain Afridi mentioned 280 to be a winning total and his boys managed to score three less and closed the innings for 277 for 7 in their 50 overs. Sri Lanka in reply could only manage 266 for 9 as Pakistan edged victory by 11 runs.  Afridi got man of the match for his 4 for 34 of 10 overs.

Pakistan got a decent start and managed 65 of their first 10 overs with only one wicket down. Hafeez and Akmal were going according to the plan before an uncalled mishap resulted in Hafeez getting run out. Akmal soon departed and the old horses, Younus Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq came to the rescue. Both of them managed to pile up a stand of 108 before Yunus was caught by Jayawardene of Herath. Captain Shahid Afridi played away some blistering shots showing his boom boom style of batting while Misbah scored a pleasing 83 even after an injury.  Sri Lankan pacemen were on the expensive side while the spin attack curbed the run flow lead by the wily old fox, Muttiah Murlidaran, who gave away just 35 of his 10 overs and bowled two superb overs during the batting power play.

Sri Lanka in response was slow but steady in the first power play as they did not lose any wickets. Dilshan started showering his charisma in the second power play and played some elegant cuts to match the asking rate. Tharanga played sensibly for his 33 while Dilshan got unlucky and got out to an inside edge for 41 of Afridi. Sangakara resurrected the Sri Lankan innings with Chamara Silva, who was finding it hard to score and was at 6 of 31 balls at one stage. The slow pace of Silva in the middle overs did it for the Lankans as the pressure kept piling up and wickets started to flurry at the other end to up the ante. Jayawardene and Samarveera got out, in single figures, to the duo Akhtar and Afridi. Mathews departed in an effort to clear the boundary. Silva did pick up his strike rate in the later overs but it had become a daunting task by then. Nuwan Kulasekara did give Lankans an outside chance as he played a cameo of 24 of just 14 balls and at one stage it looked like Sri Lanka might snatch the win out of the jaws of defeat. Shoaib Akthar started off his fiery spell and caused some jitters to Sri Lankan openers, Afridi was the hero with the ball and took four crucial wickets, and Samarweera was the best of them all as the ball deviated almost 10 degrees from its original line.

It was the first competitive and nail biting encounter in CWC 2011 and spectators had their money worth. Pakistan have taken a step ahead to book a berth in the Quarter-finals beating Sri Lanka at home. Sri Lanka still has few matches and a well balanced side to make it to the knock out stage.

Final Score:

PAK                277/7 (50)

SL                   266/9 (50)

MOM               Shahid Afridi

Umar Akmal, Man of the match, scored 71 in 52 balls

It was one more stamp to ICC’s decision to have only one extra nation apart from nine test playing, as Pakistan beat Kenya with a massive 205 run margin. Pakistan mustered a huge 317 for the loss of 7 wickets and bundled Kenya at a meagre 112 all out. Umar Akmal was awarded man of the match for his quick fire 71 of just 52 deliveries.

It was clear skies in Hambantota and the crowd expected a full bloodied performance from 2003 world cup semi-finalist Kenya and World Cup 92 winners Pakistan. However, contrary to the expectation, it was a one sided affair with Pakistan throttling the opposition in the 34^th over of the second innings.

Pakistan’s start to Cricket World Cup 2011 against Kenya must have reminded them of jinx of 2007 world cup. Openers, Mohd Hafeez and Shehzad were show the pavilion in the 7^th over of the first power play with just 12 on the scoreboard. Kenyans bowled 3 maiden overs which was a thing of the earlier era. Thomas Odoyo and Otieno didn’t give anything away and kept a tight line and length. Pakistan, however, was rescued by the middle order with 4 of them scoring half centuries. The elder of the Akmal brothers with Younis Khan stood there for a stand of 98 runs before Kamran Akmal got out on 55. Younis Khan departed as soon as he reached his fifty, wrapped in front of the bowling of S Tikolo. Umar Akmal and Misbah gathered some quick runs for their team and gave a winning partnership of 118 of just 79 balls. Misbah scored a useful 65 while Umar Akmal was caught at a score of 71. Pakistan took full toll in third power play scoring a massive 70 runs between 44^th to 48^th overs with some scintillating boundaries.

Kenya started their reply to the mammoth 318 to chase with less heard of Maurice Ouma and Seren Waters. While Pakistan spearhead Shoaib Akhtar had a point to prove after the recent controversy. Akhtar was right on the money from the first over beating Ouma’s bat on more than a couple of occasions. Shoiab was all pace in his 5 over spell while giving away just 10 away.  Kenya had got to a decent start with 37 on the board at the end of 9^th over. On the first ball of the 10^th over, Waters was run out with a brilliant fielding effort from Umar Akmal spelled doom for Kenya and their wickets kept bundling over at regular intervals.  The lone battle observed only Collins Obuya scoring a respectable 47 while 5 batsmen didn’t even trouble the scorers.  Umar Gul was impressive with his 2 wickets but the bowler of the day was Pakistani captain Shahid Afridi who didn’t do much boom boom with the bat but certainly made Kenya batsmen dance on their feet. He mixed it well with the off cutters, leg breaks and faster ones and ended up with 5 wickets for just 16 runs of 8 overs, which are the best figures for any Pakistan bowler in a world cup match beating the earlier record of Wasim Akram of 5 for 28 against Namibia.

Pakistan had a great practice before their tough matches coming up in the days to come with their fire power firing in all departments of the game.

21st June, the historic day in Cricket history, especially for Pakistan it’s the unforgettable day. Pakistani Fan’s prayers accepted, and Pakistan won over by high spirits and delight. Afridi swung willow wand and leaded the Pakistan to become ICC World T20 Champions. Pakistan determination, spirit and brilliancy in the game were apparent and each player gave his every bit of effort for the fancied victory. Expectations were high from Pakistan; to be pressurized instead it uplifted the spirits and motivated Pakistan to believe in itself. Consequently, we have Pakistan as ICC World T20 Champions beating considerably Sri Lanka off 8 wickets.

London Lord’s stadium, Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat first, though decision was sensible but it wasn’t fateful for the Sri Lanka. Lankans came to bat but blunder started from very first over; Aamer taking essential wicket of Tilakaratne Dilshan (0), then in second over Jehan Mubarak (0) was ducked by Razzaq. Then Sanath Jayasuriya(17), Mahela Jayawardena (1), Chamara Silva (14)and Isuru Udana (1); batting line up collapsed in a nick of time. But Kumar Sangakkar (64) on the other end was still holding the pitch and hopes, with vital support of Angelo Mathews (35); Sri Lankan total reached 138 runs off 6 wickets.

Pakistan bowling was spectacular, we could see the Pakistan bowling magic thrilling to fans and threatening to Sri Lanka. Pakistani bowlers Abdul Razzaq, Mohammad Aamer, Umar Gul and Shahid Afridi were outstanding and line and length was just near to perfect. Every Pakistani bowler bowl seemed tough to play, and every fielder clenching for the one’s and two’s equally bitter the batsman and made every effort of batsman worthless. Senior player Abdul Razzaq had been lucky for the Pakistan, with his return Pakistan spirits uplifted and in the final we saw he him out performing Sri Lanka by taking 3 wickets.

Lankans put forth 139 runs target, Pakistan was confident to achieve it and win the championship. This kind of optimism was radiant on every Pakistani player, and something like hunger we felt in them to win this world cup. As expected each player entertained spectators, Kamran Akmal (37) and Shahzaib Hasan (19) from the first over made Lankans restless and power play also proved to be fruitless. After Akmal, Afridi came to bat, and fans roared as he walked out of pavilion. Expectations, and prayers were being chanted and every bit of it got fulfilled. Shahid Afridi knocked unbeaten 54 runs of 40 balls and Shoaib Malik (24) also contributed well enough. Pakistan won the match by 8 wickets sparing 8 balls.

Afridi and Razzaq terrific performance just made the day only for Pakistan. After Sri Lanka qualifying for the finals Afridi growled to them to beware. In the same manner Afridi executed and terrified Lankans with his terrific performance eventually leading the Pakistan to the T20 World Cup win. Whole stadium was loaded with Pakistani supporters they cheered outrageously for the Pakistan in the End.

In Nottingham, at Trent Bridge Stadium on 18th of June, ICC World T20 semifinal was played between the unpredictable Pakistan, and invincible South Africa. Star player Shahid Afridi with his indefatigable efforts with bat and bowl snatched the victory out the South Africa who had been on winning streak up till. In this exciting semifinal, the Trent Bridge was howling with screaming and overwhelming Pakistani supporters for the Pakistan. Shahid Afridi blasted with bat 51 runs off 33 balls giving the Pakistan head start and again with his magical spell of leg-spin caught the South Africa with awe by taking 2 wickets of 16 runs. Eventually being the significant factor for the Pakistan unpredictable and unprecedented entry into the ICC World T20 finals, making it the strongest contender.

South Africa after losing to Pakistan, yet again consolidated the notion that South Africa being perennial chokers. South Africa chasing 150 fall short of 7 runs and proved to be succumbing to the pressure.

Pakistan got blasting start by Kamran Akmal (23) with the initial hiccup of falling duck wicket of the opening batsman Shahizab Hasan (0) by Wayne Parnell. Then Akmal wicket fall on 28 by Dale Steyn, Afridi came to bat and knocked 51runs off 33 balls, taking the score to the 95 with the stabilized support from Shoaib Malik (34) end. But sooner the Afridi and Shoaib Malik were returned to pavilion by Duminy and Merwe respectively at 95 for 3 and 124 for 4. Pakistani middle order was sluggish and no boundaries were knocked in last 5 overs and Younis Khan (24) and Abdul Rassaq (12) finished innings with 149 runs.

South Africa was expected to easily achieve 150 runs target, but sooner it was realized that it’s going to be tough though. Jacques Kallis stronger innings of 64 off 54 balls, strengthened the South Africa innings. But on the other end the falling of wickets continued with Graeme Smith (10), Herschelle Gibbs (5) and AB de Villers (1) by Aamer and Afridi respectively at 46 for 2, 50 for 3 and 111 for 4. Lethargy and increasing Run Rate proved to be fatal to South Africa and in a fit to break the idleness Kallis took the uncalculated shoot by Shoaib Malik and was caught. Gul with outstanding leg cutters and Yorkers in the crucial 17th and 19th over was able to confine South Africa to 6 runs only. Hence forth despite JP Duminy (44) endeavor South Africa felled short of 7 runs and lost the semifinal.

As the 10 runs on last ball left, the Pakistani supporters were swayed by exhilaration and deafening scream. As it was predicted South Africa lost to Pakistan for just 7 runs, and Pakistani supporters were just jubilant. South Africa nerves took a toll of them and Pakistan unnerving and unflinching confidence led them to finals and making them stronger contender for ICC World T20.

Women’s ICC World T20:

Watkins Led New Zealand In The Finals By Crushing India

Indian cricket women’s team made it to the semifinals, as there opposite sex Indian cricket men’s team lost all their matches in the super 8. Hope rose higher for Indian cricket women’s team even though they previously lost to England crushingly. India stood with higher expectations in front of stronger New Zealand, but as they clashed in first semifinal on 18th of June, India couldn’t sustain a bit and lost to the New Zealand by 52 runs. New Zealand powerful team played like winner and came out eventually with pre-ordained victory.

Nottingham, at Trent Bridge, New Zealand faced India; Aimee Watkins contributed solely to the huge total of 145 runs for 5 by her stunning 89 runs of just 58 balls. Aimee Watkins brilliancy with bat and captaincy gave no vent for India to make a slightest of modifications to the precedence over match. New Zealand won the toss and opted to bat first and with the greater contribution of Aimee Watkins, New Zealand aggregated 145 runs off 5 wickets.

Kiwis came to bat, but initially kiwis stumbled by losing Suzie Bates (10) to a ferocious catch by Harmanpreet Kaur on bowling of Amita Sharma. With initial dent, Aimee Watkins came to bat and trampled the hopes of Indians and played sustainable and stunning innings of unbeatable 89 runs of 58 balls on here other end the wickets kept on falling with Lucy Doolan (3), Amy Satterthwaite (10), Nicola Browne (5) and Sara McGlashan (4). Amita Sharma with her bowling figure was impressive, by taking 2 significant wickets and just giving 21 runs. Rumeli Dhar and Priyanka Roy were out of other 7 bowler who took 1-1 wickets. Indian bowling was impressive still it was not able to confine Aimee Watkins.

New Zealand aggregated 145 runs off 5 wickets after them India came to bat to chase 146 runs target. India was expected to put up some entertaining show like Aimee did, but Indian batting order felled like playing cards palace. Anjum Chopra (15), Mithali Raj (20) and Amita Sharma (24) were only to bat double figures and still they were not able to contribute and none sustained on the pitch. Wickets kept falling one by one and not a single player was able to stay on the pitch. New Zealand fielding and bowling under the captaincy of Aimee Watkins was too tight and beautiful that it gave not a single opportunity to the India. Sophie Devine, Kate Pulford, Suzie Bates took 1-1 wickets and Sian Ruck and Suzie Bates took 2-2 wickets, showing off the stronger and stable bowling line up of New Zealand.

India toddling at 93 runs for 9 wickets, New Zealand winded up with the last match with great margin of 52 runs victory over India. First semifinal of New Zealand Vs India was lop sided, and New Zealand winning the match made it into the ICC Women’s World T20 finals.

Pakistan, loosing finalists of last year’s T20 WC competition came closer to booking a Semi Finals spot with a convincing 39 runs victory over Ireland. With the Kiwis having injury worries ahead of their crucial encounter against SriLanka, the only way for Pakistan to be knocked out of the competition is through a comprehensive New Zealand victory over Sri Lanka. This looks highly unlikely as the Lankans have been the in form team in the competition thus far.

The Pakistanis decided to bat after winning the toss and looked comfortable while piling up 159 runs by just loosing five wickets against the Irish bowlers. Kamran Akmal took the experienced Irish bowler Trent Johnson, to the cleaners by smashing 20 runs of his second over of the match. The only Irish bowler to have troubled the Pakistani batsman was Boyd Rankin. His steepling bounce caused a lot of anxiety for the Pakistani openers and kept them under leash. The Pakistani batsman looked in control thereafter with notable contributions from Kamran Akmal (57 runs), Shahzaib Hasan (23 runs), Sahid Afridi (quick fire 24 runs), and Misbah-ul-Haq (20 runs) to take the score past 150 and set a challenging total for the Irishmen.

The target 0f 160 seemed to be a long distance away for Ireland with a lethal Pakistani bowling attack going full throttle against them. Saeed Ajmal spun a web around the Irish batsman with his 4-wicket haul thereby spinning Ireland out of the match. Umer Gul joined the party with a 2-wicket haul to leave Ireland 39 runs short of the target. The Ireland batsman never looked in control during the run chase as wickets tumbled on a regular interval throughout the match.

Pakistan thus ended the Super 8 stage of the competition with two consecutive victories to come close to a Semi Final spot from group F. A win for Sri Lanka against New Zealand would ensure that both the Sub continental teams reach the Semi finals from this group. Things could change with a win for New Zealand, which would force the Semi Finalists selection based on run rate, thereby leaving the Semi Final door open for all the three teams in this group.

The T20 Cricket has it roots in England where it was introduced for the first time in professional county cricket tournament. The shortened version of oneday cricket played for only 20 over each side has drawn audiences worldwide and is extremely popular as compared to other versions of cricket. This form of cricket was to provide a short version of the game to worldwide audiences. It was never meant to replace or degrade other forms like oneday and test match cricket. However, to ICC’s surprise, the governing body found that this form of cricket can help introduce the game to many more nations across the world.

The first International T20 match featured the likes of Australia and New Zealand played at the scenic Eden Park stadium in Auckland. The game has made rapid strides since then with the inaugural T20 World Cup Men’s competition being held in South Africa during September 2007. The competition played over duration of two weeks show very entertaining cricket from all the teams. It was the first time that T20 had made it this big and all the teams were uncertain about their performance in the tournament. The first bowl out in the history of T20 cricket was played between India and Pakistan in Durban after the teams were tied in the mandatory 20 over’s period.

Bangladesh proved once again that they are no longer the minnows in World Cricket with their shock defeat of the West Indies; Zimbabwe had also contributed their bit to make the tournament exciting by defeating the Australians in Cape Town. The group stages itself had laid the foundation for the tournament ahead. A young Indian team led by their inspirational captain MS Dhoni, steam rolled over England, South Africa, and title favorites Australia to set up the summit clash against arch rivals Pakistan. The final was an exciting affair with Misbah Ul Haq almost ensuring victory for Pakistan with a big six in the last over of the tournament. However, his miscalculated shot helped India achieve a dramatic 5-run victory over Pakistan and be crowned the T20 champions of the World.

The highlight of the tournament was an over in which Yuvraj Singh of India hammered Englishman Stuart Broad for six sixes of consecutive balls in that over. The most number of runs in the tournament was scored by Gautam Gambhir of India, while Umer Gul of Pakistan snapped up the maximum number of wickets. The Highest strike rate of 183.68 was achieved by Yuvraj Singh and the highest score in a T20 match was 117 scored by Chris Gayle of West Indies against South Africa. Daniel Vettori of New Zealand had the best economy rate amongst the bowlers conceding only 5.28 runs per over in a competition that favored the batsman. The highest score in a T20 match of the tournament was achieved by Sri Lanka when they amassed 260 against the minnows Kenya.

The second edition of the T20 World Cup is currently underway in England with 12 teams making it to the Men’s competition. The tournament is scheduled to be conducted after every two years except for West Indies hosting the tournament in 2010. The matches are being played in locations such as Lord’s, Trent Bridge, The Oval, and Taunton. The group stages have recently finished with Ireland and Netherlands being the surprise package of the tournament. The Dutch had raised their hopes of qualification into the Super 8 round of the tournament with an emphatic victory over England in one of the group games. However, Pakistan steam rolled them and ended all their dreams in the competition.

Ireland has been constantly improving since they first entered the big stage, a memorable win against Pakistan in the Oneday International World Cup held in West Indies, they also went on to beat Bangladesh to qualify for the Super 8 round of the competition. The in form teams of this tournament South Africa and Sri Lanka are playing solid cricket to keep their hopes alive of a summit clash, but West Indies, Pakistan, and New Zealand along with the Defending champions India will not make things easy for them. The last half of the tournament promises to be as exciting as the first half, which will throw many surprises and entertain the audiences with display of exciting cricket.